


Skin Deep

by brilliantbecca94



Series: Scales and Scars [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Disney Approved Levels of Romance, Disney Approved Levels of Violence, F/M, Female-Female Friendship, Friendship, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21639775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brilliantbecca94/pseuds/brilliantbecca94
Summary: At sixteen Syrena didn’t have much to complain about. She had two best friends in the future king and queen, she attended a beautiful school, and she was a princess. What else could a girl ask for?Or so it seemed. Not all was as rosy and fairytale-perfect as it first appeared. The addition of four villains’ kids from the Isle certainly didn’t help matters as Syrena must discover that the difference between princess and monster, and good and evil is much more than just skin deep.
Relationships: Audrey/Ben (Disney: Descendants), Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants)
Series: Scales and Scars [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559956
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30





	1. The First Royal Proclamation

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing beyond the character of Syrena and any other's that you don't recognize. And even then, there are a few characters mentioned that I don't own that I have found while doing research on the series on the Descendants wiki page.
> 
> This series and the short stories that go along with it, will eventually become Harry x Syrena and Harry x Uma x Syrena, there will be mentions of past relationships between Mal and Evie as well as Mal, Evie and Jay and past Harry x Uma (I leave Carlos out simply because in the first movie he looks so young and innocent, I don't like thinking about him with anyone. And I leave Gil out because it isn't a huge focus like the other relationships will be. However I do mention later in the series that the Isle's "gang activity" version of dating does have elements of sexuality and that the Isle does not hold any prejudices on same sex relationships. So there will be mentions and graphic depictions later of F/F and F/F/M relationships with implications of M/M relations.)
> 
> The first installment of the series is rated T, but the later installments will most likely increase to M and the short stories will almost always be M and E rated.
> 
> Please let me know if I need to include any additional tags because this is my first time publishing my work on this site and it has been a very, very long time since I've published anything on FF.net. I want to ensure that I am respectful of all readers and include any and all tags relevant to my stories and my series.
> 
> This series will also be cross-posted on Tumblr. As soon as I get that set up, I will include the information in a note at the end of whatever chapter happens to be posted at that time. I haven't ever posted anything on Tumblr either, so please excuse the delay while I learn.
> 
> And finally, I hope you enjoy this work. Comments and feedback are appreciated.

Once upon a time, twenty years ago, Belle married her Beast in front of six thousand of their closest friends and, instead of a honeymoon, the royal couple united all of the kingdoms and Beast was elected King of the United States of Auradon.  
Together with the help of the other royal families, the King and Queen rounded up all of the villains and sidekicks and imprisoned them on the Isle of the Lost with a magical barrier to keep them there.  
The villains and sidekicks were left with no magic, no Wi-Fi and no way of escaping the Isle to wreak havoc on the kingdoms. So, the Auradonians lived in peace, retiring the old ways of magic wands and spell books to be carefully collected in a museum as a reminder to the future generations of how Auradon came to be, but to never be used again.  
The new generation grew up with the stories their parents told of villains and witches, hero’s and princes, princesses and queens, filling their heads with dreams of perfectly sculpted futures filled with true love and no evil. All was good.  
Until now.

~

Syrena glanced uneasily between her best friend, Audrey, and the future King of Auradon (and Audrey’s longtime boyfriend) Ben.  
Audrey was doing her absolute best to maintain her pristine, princessly composure and, in light of what Ben had just told them, Syrena thought the pink clad girl was doing a phenomenal job. However, it was clear with each word that left Ben’s oblivious mouth, that Audrey’s composure was wearing very thin. Her perfectly pink smile was cracking, and her eyes were igniting with every genteel argument she was outlining in her mind.  
“You’re bringing the children of villains,” Audrey spat the word like it was a bite of Snow White’s infamous poison apple, “to Auradon Prep…to mingle with us?”  
Syrena felt her eyes start to roll in her head and caught herself before anyone, other than Ben’s personal squire Lumiere who was casually standing by the salon door ready to assist the prince if needed, caught her.  
But she felt her exasperation was justified.  
They’d been sitting in the salon for over an hour listening to and, in the case of Audrey repeating and condemning, Ben’s idea for his first royal proclamation as King.  
She was exhausted and annoyed.  
And the repetitive ding, ding, ding of her phone was just another log in the growing fire of her frustration. Her phone had been beeping non-stop as her cousins, Ari, Tina, Dell, Aqua, Rina and Lannie, had been blowing up their group text with ridiculous questions and insights on their most recent land findings.  
Considering she lived on land full time, Syrena often found her cousin’s enthusiasm superfluous. They were, occasionally, endearing but always incredibly obnoxious when their fins gave way to legs and they were able to explore the limited kingdom of Aphelothia for the day.  
It wasn’t really their fault though, as permanent residents of Atlantica, they were only able to come to land on particular moon phases. Syrena imagined if she was ever given the opportunity to join them in Atlantica, she’d share their overexcited enthusiasm.  
But Ari’s constant questions about plants was starting to drive Syrena insane. How could one person, land dwelling or not, be so consumed by flora that she had to take pictures of every leaf and petal she found? At this point, there was an entire botanical garden in her messages and they’d only been on land for two and a half hours. There couldn’t be that many flowers and trees within the walls of her parents’ castle. Their garden was mediocre compared to the one at Aurodon Prep and was absolutely embarrassing when she looked outside the stained-glass window of the salon to see the hedge row entrance to Belle’s village sized rose garden.  
“Syrena are you listening to this?”  
Audrey’s shrill voice echoed through Syrena’s head, blowing a steady stream of air on the catching embers of a forming migraine.  
Sitting up straighter in her chair, Syrena nodded to her friend. “Have you chosen which villain kids you’re going to start with?” she asked, looking to Ben and ignoring Audrey’s pouting pink lips and the minute stamp of her pink flat against the marble floor. She didn’t miss the sharp crossing of arms and angry spark in her friends eye though and knew that as soon as they were back at the dorms, Syrena would get an earful about her ‘complete disregard for the safety of Auradon and their friends, legacies and most importantly, Audrey’s crowning as Queen’.  
Still, she awaited Ben’s answer with as much interest as she could muster as her phone dinged ten more times in rapid succession.  
How could six girls text so much when they were right next to one another?  
“I have!” Ben beamed, ready to finally discuss his plans with someone who seemed less likely to judge him and more inclined to actually listen to his reasoning. “I thought we’d start with the son of Jafar, the son of Cruella DeVil, the daughter of the Evil Queen and…” he spared a hesitant glance toward his girlfriend, still looking a strange mix between furious and puckering that came across more as a constipated toddler than a concerned future queen, “and the daughter of Maleficent.”  
Audrey’s banshee like shriek of indignation could have shattered every stained-glass window of Beast Castle, but at least Syrena couldn’t hear her phone dinging another six times.  
Maybe she should have gone back to Aphelothia for the summer to look at plants with her cousins. With all the useless knowledge on the subject currently stored away in her brain, she could have a budding career as an apothecarist…if the title wasn’t as retired as magic wands.  
At least then she wouldn’t have had to spend the rest of her summer vacation as a hostage in her best friend’s castle, listening to the pink loving brunette rave about her boyfriend’s reckless decisions.


	2. The Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Isle kids are here and Syrena isn't sure why, but she's more nervous about it than she expected. Between Audrey's constant picking and the constant unease bubbling within her, Syrena doesn't know if she's ready for this day. Too bad it's already arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer is the same as the first chapter. I own nothing but Syrena and some characters that readers don't recognize.
> 
> Thank you for continuing to read, remember comments and feedback are appreciated.

Today was the day.  
Syrena stared into the eyes of her reflection, hands nervously fidgeting with her curled hair, wrapping the already perfect spirals around her fingers to ensure maximum springiness and then quickly moving to smooth down the front of her steam pressed and wrinkle free dress. Each motion drew her eye to new imperfections that only she could see.  
The four villain kids were coming today to get settled into their new life among the docile population of Auradon Prep.  
Syrena wasn’t sure why that made her so nervous, but her body had been crackling with anxious energy since Audrey had demanded Syrena stand with her and Ben at the welcoming ceremony.  
Something big was coming and it was so much more involved than just the villain kids starting school with them and flipping the normally boring and routine daily life of Auradonians upside down. Syrena just wished she could pin down exactly what it was that was making her so on edge.  
“Why aren’t you ready to go?” Audrey snipped, drawing Syrena’s eyes to the reflection of the brunette girl in her doorway.  
“I am. I just have to put shoes on.” Stepping away from the mirror, Syrena lifted her forest green peep toe wedges, thankfully a sensible height of only three inches, from where she’d placed them on her vanity for her friend to see before sliding them onto her feet one at a time and joining Audrey at the door. A momentary wobble and the slick bottoms of the wedges slid against her carpeted dorm floor and another silent thanks that they were only three inches, as Audrey had a tendency to choose shoes that were much higher, and Syrena was accepting Audrey’s offered arm as they headed out the door.   
Audrey gave her a quick once over and a nod of approval as they went, but Syrena wasn’t surprised. Audrey had picked the outfit out for her specifically for today.  
The plain teal dress fell just above Syrena’s knees, gauzy material swishing around and leaving her legs exposed in the most uncomfortable way. Faint as they were, Syrena felt like the whole world would be able to see each fine white, scale shaped scar that covered her legs from the tops of her feet to her hip bones. To help with her insecurities, Audrey had allowed her friend a simple white cardigan to cover the matching scars that patched her arms where the haltered top of the dress and the lack of sleeves failed.  
Syrena had checked the weather forecast at least a dozen times since agreeing to the dress for fear of accumulating more scars, or worse revealing her actual scales and the white-hot pain they brought with them. There was no chance of rain, a small blessing, so the exposure, she hoped, wouldn’t be an issue.  
Audrey had chosen each item of clothing with absolute care to ensure that Syrena looked presentable to stand next to the future King and Queen of Auradon but didn’t outshine either of them. A problem Audrey often said she had since Syrena’s distinct red hair stood out against everything else and drew eyes immediately. It was a problem that Audrey countered by ensuring her pink dresses were a shade of pink completely original to Audrey, thanks to Fairy magic but don’t tell anyone, and incredibly hard to ignore.  
The future queen looped their arms together, gaze dropping to the only item Syrena wore that was not chosen by Audrey. The thin golden bracelet that Syrena’s mother had given her, was made from a piece of her grandfather’s trident, before he’d donated it to the Auradon History Museum. Inlaid in the band were small emerald chips that glittered dimly in the light. The bracelet was one of the few treasures that Syrena had from her mother’s home in Atlantica and no matter what Audrey said about it, the bracelet was never removed from Syrena’s wrist.  
The small sneer on Audrey’s pink lips and the slight jerk of Syrena’s jewelry baring arm as they headed out of the dorm room and towards the school entrance and waiting ceremony was all the argument the brunette gave and Syrena was glad for it. She didn’t know if the welling emotions in her chest could deal with Audrey’s petulant arguments today. As long as she didn’t do anything else to infuriate the girl, the day would move smoothly and quickly. And the faster she could get through this ceremony meant she was able to return to her room that much quicker to sort out any remaining anxiety she felt about the arrival of her new classmates.

~

They were here.  
Syrena’s eyes trailed around the circular drive of Auradon Prep, taking in the enthusiastic students waving flags and holding signs welcoming the new arrivals as the limo that had been sent to retrieve the Isle kids pulled into view. The marching band began playing the peppy tune that was Auradon Prep’s anthem and the nervous energy that had been building inside her was beginning to bubble over.  
It took every ounce of willpower she could muster to keep her hands crossed demurely in front of her, instead of toying with her curls or smoothing the wrinkles out of her wrinkleless dress.   
But fidgeting would make Audrey mad.   
A princess didn’t fidget or fuss when in the presence of her subjects. Instead, her eyes tracked the limos slow progress around the flower bed median until it was parked in front of the band.  
What would they be like?   
As the children of villains, she knew that most of the student body expected them to be uncivilized, rude and, of course, evil. But Syrena thought it was more likely that these villain descendants would be more like the Auradonians than the Auradonians were ready to admit.  
The limo driver slid out of the car, straightening his suit jacket with a quick tug to the hem and then walked to open the back door.  
Syrena thought she could feel everyone in the courtyard cease breathing at the same time, awaiting the moment of truth as the villain kids were revealed. A quick glance to her right saw Audrey’s tight, brittle smile and Ben’s nervous features shifting between grin and frown. His eyes were unfocused and Syrena thought it was likely that the prince was rehearsing his greeting speech in his head, going over it with a fine-tooth comb and overanalyzing ever word. At least now he was doing so silently. She had memorized his speech after the first forty-five minutes of listening to him practice and he hadn’t stopped in the entire week leading up to this moment.  
He was going to butcher it if he kept on like this.  
“Oh! Ah! OW STOP!”  
Syrena’s eyes shot to the open limo door and the red, blue and white blur that tumbled out.  
A small boy with white hair rolled out of the limo, landing back first on the hard pavement. He was clinging to something still half inside the car as another boy, taller with long dark hair, slid out to join him. The taller boy had a tight grip on the other half of the coveted item and his boot firmly planted on the smaller boy’s throat. The vicious game of tug-of-war and the indistinguishable shouting from the white-haired boy silenced the band as everyone watched the strange scene unfold.  
Syrena kept her eyes on the limo, ignoring for the moment the battle over…whatever it was the boys were fighting over. A pretty girl slid out of the car next, stepping around the boys until she was out of the danger zone. The girl had vibrant blue hair that swirled around her as she turned a full circle, eyes wide and mouth open in awe as she tried to take in everything at once. Syrena liked the look of this girl, she was better dressed than the boys. Even though her clothes were clearly worn, it looked like she kept them as neat as she could. And her half cape was adorable.  
“Excuse me, dear,” Fairy Godmother coughed, drawing Syrena’s attention away from the final occupant in the limo.  
“Sorry,” she murmured, taking a small half step out of the way to let the headmistress approach the new arrivals.  
Blue was the first to notice, hastily turning to her companions and alerting them as well. The boys froze, watching Fairy Godmother. The tall boy removed his boot from the white-haired boy’s throat with a guilty grin and a chuckle. Syrena noted he was holding the small tv from the limo under one arm, his female companions noticed too and quickly averted their attention with matching sighs. This was clearly something they were used to.  
“Come on,” Audrey hissed, pinching Syrena’s arm as she moved forward with Ben to stand behind Fairy Godmother. Syrena followed, taking smaller steps so as to stay just a little behind the future queen.  
“Leave it like you found it!” Fairy Godmother sing-songed to the boy holding the tv, a forced smile curling her lips and a dry giggle leaving her throat. Audrey’s brittle smile turned into a concealed sneer that crinkled her nose as she giggled with Fairy Godmother, as if this boy’s attempted theft was a cute trick. “And by that, I mean just leave it.” The smile dropped; brown eyes trained on every movement until the boy had returned his almost stolen goods.  
“Hello, foxy,” the tall boy crooned, moving around his companions and away from the temptation of expensive items to approach Audrey.  
Syrena bit back a genuine laugh as her friend’s smile dropped to barely concealed revulsion and shock.  
Ben didn’t try to stifle his chuckle.  
“The name’s Jay,” the boy continued, crossing admittedly muscular arms that didn’t match the boyish grin on his face. He eyed Audrey up and down and Syrena covered a snicker with a cough.  
Audrey laughed, nose crinkling again. It was sarcastic and dry, earning her a sharp look from Fairy Godmother before the headmistress returned to the four arrivals to introduce herself.  
The purple haired girl who’d come out of the limo last looked surprised. She asked for confirmation to the headmistress’s identity, as if there were multiple fairy godmothers around and it made the bubbling unease inside Syrena resume its gut tightening.  
“I always wondered what it felt like for Cinderella, when you just appeared, out of nowhere, with that,” she waved her hand back and forth, “sparkly wand and warm smile. And that sparkling wand.” Purple clapped her hands together, a smile so false curling her lips that she could have rivaled Audrey.  
Suspicion curled inside Syrena’s mind, but she tried to quash it by distracting herself with Blue’s blue and gold circlet-like headband. It was cute, like the rest of her outfit.  
“It’s so good to finally meet you all,” Ben greeted, taking the opportunity to step around Fairy Godmother. Audrey followed, staying perfectly even with him. Syrena stepped up too, a half step behind Audrey and close enough to the group now that she could see the white-haired boy had what she hoped was chocolate smeared around his mouth. Another giggle tried to escape, this one she wasn’t quite so quick to stifle, drawing Jay’s warm eyes and earning her another boyish grin and a wink. “I’m Ben-”  
“Prince Benjamin,” Audrey corrected quickly, beaming at her boyfriend, “soon to be king,” she squealed.  
Blue stepped forward, a dreamy smile on her lips, “you had me at prince,” she breathed. Syrena caught Audrey’s flicker of jealousy before it was masked by another strained grin. “My mom’s a queen, which makes me a princess,” Blue explained, hands primly held out to her sides as she curtsied.  
“The Evil Queen has no royal status here,” Audrey bit out, “and neither do you.”  
Syrena met Blue’s eyes as the girl’s face fell. She clearly hadn’t expected that kind of harsh reception. The red head offered her a sympathetic smile, but it was overshadowed by Ben’s hurried introduction of Audrey who nippily took over for him when he didn’t include information which she clearly thought was important.  
“Princess Audrey. His girlfriend. Right, Bennyboo?” the brunette girl grabbed the prince’s hand, which he accepted awkwardly.  
“Ben, Audrey and Syrena are going to show you all around,” Fairy Godmother interjected, “and I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a casual hand motion, the headmistress parted Audrey’s firm hold on Ben’s hand and added in a hasty reminder about library hours and curfews before taking her leave. Others followed, swiftly ducking out of the tension filled courtyard while the villain kids and the royal welcoming committee stared each other down.  
Once they were mostly alone, Ben stepped forward to the newbies, hand outstretched. “It is so, so, so good to finally meet you all.” The offered hand was first deflected by Jay who offered a friendly-ish punch to the chest instead. “This is a momentous occasion,” Ben continued, unfazed by the boy’s aggression. He moved down the line of four, shaking each hand in turn, though he did pause in shaking the white-haired boy’s hand when his returned with chocolate smears on it.  
“Or the day that you showed four peoples where the bathrooms are,” the purple haired girl interjected, cutting off Ben’s rehearsed speech.  
“A little bit over the top?” he asked her, a nervous chuckle escaping him.  
“A little more than a little bit,” she answered.  
“Well, so much for my first impression.”  
Syrena watched the pair intently as they laughed together. It was awkward laughter, but the tense energy was beginning to melt away. She started to relax with them, a small, genuine smile curling her lips.  
“Hey! You’re Maleficent’s daughter, aren’t you?” Audrey exclaimed and the tension returned tenfold. Syrena wanted to smack the future queen in the hopes it knocked some of the jealousy out of her, but she refrained. Instead she took a step closer to her friend, readying herself in case she needed to pull Audrey away. “Yeah, you know what? I totally do not blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents and stuff.”   
“Oh, good gods…” Syrena whispered under her breath. The purple haired girl, Mal if she remembered correctly now that she knew the girl’s villain parent, seemed to share Syrena’s sentimate, grey eyes widening as if she couldn’t believe Audrey would go there. “Oh, my mom’s Aurora. Sleeping-”  
“Beauty!” Mal finished, voice raising a few octaves. “Yeah, I’ve heard the name. You know, and I totally do not blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the whole world but my mother to their stupid christening.” She smiled a smile so supremely phony, Syrena was momentarily impressed.  
“Water under the bridge,” Audrey giggled, fake grin and nose crinkle accommodating a quick shrug.  
“Totes!” Mal agreed sarcastically.  
Syrena prayed for the end of this argument and it seemed like the other three villain kids were too as insincere giggles erupted from both girls.  
“Okay!” Ben clapped, “so, how about a tour? Yeah? Auradon Prep,” he extended his arms in a sweeping gesture toward the doors and beginning his speech about the founding and history of the school.  
Syrena stayed in place, smiling as well as she could considering how suddenly exhausted she felt by this whole ordeal. She waited for each of the villain kids to pass her, before taking up the rear of the tour train, wondering how easy it would be to slip away during the expedition.  
They approached the bronze statue of Beast and Ben made a show of clapping his hands to make the statue morph from king to beast and Syrena was nearly kicked in the face as the white-haired boy screamed and leapt into Jays arms. She was impressed to see how easily the tall boy caught and held his friend, as if this was a regular occurrence.  
“Carlos it’s okay,” Ben chuckled, smiling kindly at the boy and beginning explaining the statues significance.  
“Does he shed much?” Mal asked, looking up at the statue curiously.  
“Yeah, mom won’t let him on the couch,” Ben replied. Syrena hid a giggle behind her hand, the serious look on the prince’s face betraying nothing about whether or not the statement was true. Audrey frowned up at her boyfriend from her place on his arm, but he took no notice as he focused on watching Mal attempt to figure out if he was joking. He gave her a smile that revealed nothing and continued on towards the large wood double doors leading into the school.  
Syrena stayed back, watching Jay drop Carlos roughly. “So, you don’t like dogs?” she guessed, eyebrow raised at the boys. Jay chuckled arm snaking out to catch her shoulders and tugging her along with him, gracing her a brief and exaggerated tale of the origin of Carlos’ fear. She let him lead her for a moment, watching over their shoulders as Carlos tried to transform the statue back to the form which he was more comfortable with and then running away when it didn’t obey him, but slid from his grasp as gently as she could, afraid his fingers might feel the slightly raised skin on her arms through the thin material of her cardigan.  
“So, you guys have a lot of magic here in Auradon?” Mal asked as they entered the foyer of Auradon Prep’s dorm building.   
“Yeah, it exists of course,” Ben answered, stopping at the foot of the twin staircases and facing the line of four. “But it’s pretty much retired. Most of us here are just ordinary mortals.”  
Syrena didn’t miss Audrey’s quick glance her way at this casual statement. She forced her face to remain calm and her smile passive. If she didn’t give Audrey the satisfaction of her worry, Audrey was more likely to drop the topic without any dangerous hinting jabs towards her condition.  
“Who happen to be kings and queens,” Mal added.  
“That’s true!” Audrey agreed, breaking eye contact with Syrena to wrap Ben’s arm around her shoulder, “our royal blood goes back hundreds of years.”  
Syrena rolled her eyes at the awkward exchange between the prince and princess. Audrey was always possessive, but this was going way above the girl’s normal level of crazy and it was clear to everyone in the room.  
Ben was quick to remove himself from his girlfriend’s fierce hold, grabbing his friend Doug as the boy came down the stairs and informing the group that the remainder of the tour would be completed by Doug.  
Syrena smiled apologetically at the boy, making a note to let Doug know how much his stolen time was appreciated.  
“If there is anything you need,” Ben began, gaze focused on Mal who looked uncertain about the attention, “feel free to-”  
“Ask Doug,” Audrey asserted, phony giggles erupting from her throat before she pulled Ben away.  
Syrena looked between the retreating backs of her friends, the four new students who were also looking around, confused by the sudden abandonment, and Doug who seemed uncertain as to how he’d be conducting the remainder of the tour.  
“Right…” she started, drawing four pairs of eyes to her, “like Ben said, it was great meeting you all and if you need anything, you’re welcome to ask me. I’m in the room three doors down from yours,” she looked to Mal and Blue, Evie she reminded herself, fearing that she’d offend the girl if she slipped up and called her by the nickname. “My door is usually open.” She gave a hasty smile to each of the villain kids and then to Doug, before escaping up the stairs towards her dorm. She kicked off the peep toe wedges as soon as she hit the first landing that was out of sight of the others, escaping to the sanctuary of her single dorm room, uncertain that she wanted to see what the next day would bring.


	3. Beware, Forswear...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Syrena's first hesitant steps into befriending the Villain Kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Is exactly the same as it was in the last two chapters. I own only Syrena and any characters that you don't recognize.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read and is still reading.
> 
> I appreciate all of you!
> 
> Comments are appreciated!

The first day of classes was, oddly enough considering how the welcoming had gone, exceptionally uneventful. The first class of the day for the new students was Remedial Goodness 101, which was a class with a total of four students, leaving the rest of the student body of Auradon Prep Isle kid free for the morning.  
Syrena had listened to Audrey babble on at breakfast about how she hoped she didn’t have to share any of her classes with those people, but Syrena couldn’t share her friend’s sentiment. She was curious about the Isle kids and the strange nervous energy they caused to surge through her and hoped that more time around them would offer a reason behind it.  
It wasn’t until Tourney practice, when Syrena, Audrey and the other cheerleaders took time to practice while watching the future princes run drills and go through plays for their next match, that Syrena had her first interaction of the day with the Isle boys.  
Jay had been impressive on the field, using clever maneuvering and brute force to demolish his opponents (and his teammates) and score goal after goal. So impressive in fact, that the coach was already considering offering him a spot on the team.  
Jay had caught her watching from the side lines a few times, even though she was supposed to be focusing on Audrey and working on cheers, and each time she’d offered a friendly smile and a wave of her pompom.  
“Syrena, you’re not paying attention!” Audrey had snapped at her, multiple times, before going into a lengthy explanation about how important the first tourney match of the year was and their key role in supporting the team and Ben as he led Auradon Prep to victory. Each of these rants was met with shared eye rolls behind her back from the rest of the team. This was their first practice, and Audrey was already getting on each girl’s last nerve.  
If she kept this up, Syrena might get a break from cheerleading because the rest of the team would quit.  
Audrey’s attitude didn’t deter Syrena from acknowledging Jay’s superior skills, making sure to cheer extra loud whenever he scored a goal. The feeble thrill her miniscule rebellion gave her every time Audrey shot her a sneer or a glare was just a tiny perk. She hadn’t expected him to actually approach her at the end of the period and by the disparage on Audrey’s face, the brunette hadn’t expected it either and she quickly gathered her belongings and exited the field, a dismissive flip of her hair in Syrena’s face as she passed the only goodbye the red head received.  
“How’s your first day going?” she’d asked him while picking up her belongings to take with her to the locker room. Her answer had been a charming, boyish grin as he held up his Tourney paddle.  
“This game is pretty cool. I’m a little disappointed by the ‘kill zone’ though.”   
“Guess you’re fitting in then,” Syrena had laughed.  
He walked with her across the field to the locker rooms, stating that since Carlos was being taken away to schedule times for additional practice with Ben, he was left alone to find his way to his next class. She’d offered to help him, but he’d found something apparently more interesting to distract himself.  
“Aren’t you hot?” he’d asked and Syrena was momentarily stunned that their casual conversation had taken such a turn until he’d given the yellow tights that she wore under her royal blue cheer skirt a tug.   
“Oh,” she flushed, silently berating herself for assuming silly things, “no, I…get cold easily,” she’d lied underwhelmingly and the calculating look she saw flash in his brown eyes made her suspect that he knew that, but he hadn’t pried and they’d gone their separate ways at the entrances to the locker rooms.  
She’d waited on the other side of the locker rooms for a few minutes after she’d changed back into her normal clothes to see if he’d really needed help finding his next class, but when he never emerged, Syrena was forced to abandon the effort and run to Mr. Delay’s science class before she was late.

Now, sitting across from Doug and Evie at one of the long lab tables, Syrena tried to think of anything to say to the girl to strike up a conversation, but everything that came to mind seemed stale and shallow. Even if she had been able to come up with something beyond “I really like your tiara”, Evie was too focused on Syrena’s neighbor, Chad, to engage in a thought-provoking conversation.   
Instead, Syrena listened to the blue haired girl ask Doug about Chad’s royal status. Praise to Doug that he only sounded mildly annoyed when he answered Evie’s question.  
“Chad. Prince Charming, JR,” Doug started, and Evie’s airy smile turned up a thousand watts. “Chad inherited the charm, but not a lot of there there, know what I mean?”  
Syrena chuckled at that, sharing an amused grin with Doug as they watched Evie melt into a sighing, smiling mess of heart eyes directed at the oblivious boy across from her.  
“Evie,” the moment shattered with Mr. Delay’s slightly nasally and accented approach, “Perhaps this is just review for you. So, tell me, what is the average atomic weight of silver?”  
Evie had fantastic composure, Syrena noted as the girl went from momentary shock at being called upon to brilliant beam of doting student. She was absolutely positive the Isle girl was going to stun all of them with the correct answer until she actually started speaking.  
Syrena wasn’t sure she’d ever heard anyone dumb themselves down so expertly and could do nothing else but stare as the girl giggled and smiled prettily, answering the question with “atomic weight? Uh, well, not very much. I mean, it’s an atom, right?” Syrena couldn’t even bring herself to smile back at the girl when their eyes met, but Chad certainly fell into her charms, laughing and grinning right along with Evie.  
Mr. Delay, to his credit, only released an exasperated sigh, eyes closing so as not to show his students the eye roll that he gave them. With a quick motion of his finger, Mr. Delay summoned the blue haired girl to the chalk board. The tables occupants watched Evie rise, lips pursed, to follow the teacher.  
Syrena was positive she was not supposed to see Evie pull a palm sized mirror out of her purse to be tucked slyly into the waistband of her skirt as she rounded the table to the front of the room, but she had and the anxious energy began to bubble in Syrena’s gut again as she turned on her stool to face the board. Shifting to raise herself up on the stool, the red head focused not on Evie’s flawless chalk handwriting, but on the hand carefully placed on the chalkboard ledge and concealed by the girl’s slim waist. The mirror was there, but Syrena couldn’t see what it was reflecting. Only that Evie’s eyes were focused completely as her hand moved fluidly across the board, writing out the complex numbers associated with atomic weight calculations. With a quick glance over her shoulder, Syrena saw Doug’s confused eyes tracking the numbers appearing on the board. Around her, the rest of the class was also filled with a mixture of confusion and surprised interest. No one seemed to notice the mirror.  
“Which, Mr. Delay, would give us 107.9 AMU,” with a flourish, Evie finished the equation, flashing their teacher another thousand-watt smile. Besides Doug, no one seemed to notice that instead of using the correct terminology, Evie said “am oo” like it was a word of its own instead of an abbreviation.  
“I forget,” Mr. Delay began, “always a mistake to underestimate…”  
“A villain?” Evie finished for him, turning on her heels to face him, her smile more of a sneer now and her blue curls fanning out around her with a level of perfected sass that Syrena envied, “Don’t make it again.” She tossed the piece of chalk into Mr. Delay’s hands before turning with another flair of curls to return to her seat. As she passed, Chad handed her a slip of paper and the sneer morphed again to a soft, sweet curl of her lips. She perched primly on her stool, unfolding the note and then nodding to Chad enthusiastically.  
Doug and Syrena shared another look across the table, Doug’s said “this is ridiculous” as he rested his cheek on his hand and pouted while Syrena’s could only manage a self-explanatory eye roll. She hated science already, but watching Evie and Chad make heart eyes at each other was making the already terrible experience sickening as well. Thank the gods it was her last class of the day.

~

“Did you see what she did to Jane’s hair?” Lonnie’s voice echoed in the empty corridor making Syrena jump as she closed her locker door, revealing the tomboyish girl now staring at her, eyes wide with anticipation for her answer.  
“Who?” Syrena asked, lifting her bag from the floor to organize her schoolbooks and that night’s assignments.  
“Jane,” Lonnie answered slowly, nodding her head at Syrena as if to urge her memory into working, “Fairy Godmother’s daughter. You know, with the…the bow?” she held her hands over her head, fingers curling to make a little bow shape at her crown.  
“No, I know who Jane is, Lonnie. Who did what to Jane’s hair?” Syrena giggled, slinging her bag over her shoulder gracefully and starting down the hall towards the library.  
“Mal!” Lonnie exclaimed, as if that was obvious, trotting dutifully beside her friend and beginning her in depth explanation of Jane’s new hairstyle. “She used a spell from a book and then Jane’s hair was…amazing!”  
“A spell from a book?”  
Lonnie frowned at her, “focus Rena! Do you think Mal would do something to mine? I’ve always wanted cool hair, like yours or Mal’s. You know, something not so,” she lifted a lock of short, dark brown hair, “boring,” she finished lamely, dropping the lock with a sigh.  
“Lonnie, your hair is beautiful. You don’t need a spell to make it cool, it already is because it’s yours.”  
Lonnie rolled her eyes, “you have to say that because you’re my friend.”  
Syrena wanted to scoff at that notion, thinking back to all the times Audrey had insulted Syrena’s hair or clothes, or even her voice in the name of honesty and friendship. If friends were supposed to say nice things to each other, just because they were friends, Syrena had definitely been missing out.  
“Would you come with me to ask her?” Lonnie asked, stopping at the staircase that led up to the dorms and looking nervously down at her hands.  
“Oh…” Syrena hesitated, she’d really wanted to go to the library and start on her homework, knowing full well that Audrey was going to insist on extra cheer practices in the evenings since she was captain now (a perk of dating the future king during his coronation year apparently) and the last thing she wanted was to get behind in her classes. But Lonnie was her friend and Syrena had wanted to get to know the Isle kids better. This would be an opportunity for that. “Sure, of course,” she agreed finally, stepping forward to start up the stairs. “But I’m telling you, there’s nothing Mal’s book of spells can do. You can’t fix perfection,” she offered Lonnie a smile that was ignored by an excited squeal and a hug that almost knocked Syrena down.  
Coming down the hall, Syrena could already hear Evie and Mal’s voices escaping the open dorm door. She heard Jane too and couldn’t help feeling a little curious about the mousy girl’s new hairdo. Before she could make the comment to Lonnie, the girl was already breeching the room with a quick knock to the wooden frame and an excited “Hey, guys!” leaving Syrena to stand awkwardly in the doorway to watch the conversation unfold.  
She had to do a double take as she recognized Jane sitting on one of the canopy beds, her one short brown hair was now hanging in elegant curls that fell just past her shoulders, her once perfectly centered and starched to stiff enormity bow was now fashionably cocked to the side and flattened to lay in a perfect curve against the band. She had to admit that she definitely looked better, but Syrena thought that had more to do with the confidence the once timid girl was now emanating than the hairstyle itself.  
Syrena returned to the conversation unfolding before her as Lonnie offered to pay Mal fifty dollars in exchange for the same hair spell the villain girl had used on Jane.  
Evie was quick to jump into the conversation then, offering her own advice on what they should do to Lonnie’s hair, but her ideas were quickly shot down as Lonnie explained that she wanted “cool” hair like Mal’s.  
“Really?” Evie asked, forcing a smile, “the split ends, too?”  
Mal snarled at her friend, who simply shook the small purse with the money Lonnie had offered.  
Syrena watched the silent conversation between the girls, Evie’s knowing smile and Mal’s pursed lips and agitated eyes. And then with another snarl, Mal lay down her pen and slammed the cover of her textbook before rolling off her bed to retrieve what Syrena could only assume was the spell book Lonnie had mentioned. Evie and Lonnie exchanged giddy smiles and Syrena stepped further into the room, intrigued to see how this magic worked.  
After a few flips of the pages, Mal came to the spell she wanted and gave Lonnie a quick raised eyebrow of question. Was Lonnie sure this was what she wanted? The daughter of the warrior woman nodded enthusiastically, taking a deep breath and waiting for the magic to happen.  
“Beware, forswear, replace the old with cool hair,” Mal read, finger moving along the page as she spoke. Then she snapped the book closed and flicked her finger left, right, up and down. Lonnie’s head followed the motion and when it rose again, green light swirled around the dark locks until they grew into light brown and gold curls resting smoothly down her back.  
Syrena followed Lonnie further into the room, watching the awestruck girl stare at her reflection in the mirror, devoid of words. Evie was the first to approach her, but Syrena didn’t hear what the blue haired girl said, instead she stared at Mal, hanging casually off one of the canopy bed’s poles.  
Who was this girl that she could use magic like this? And where had she gotten that spell book?  
Syrena was no stranger to magic, she’d seen the Fairy Godmother use her magic wand at royal ceremonies, seen her mother transform her legs into a fin and then back again. She’d felt the sharp, slicing pains of her own magical transformation from land to sea and back enough times to make her weary of exposing herself to water, but she’d never experienced anything like this.   
In a moment of philosophical uncertainty, Syrena wondered if this could be classified as evil magic. Mal hadn’t hurt either of the girls she’d glamoured, and they’d both asked for her help. But she’d used the magic to change their physical appearance, to make them feel that their genetics were flawed, and the only remedy was through magical alteration. That didn’t seem quite on the level of evil, but it certainly wasn’t what Syrena would consider good either.  
But could she really judge any of them for choosing to alter the parts of themselves they were ashamed of? Didn’t she do the same thing every day by avoiding exposing her marred skin to the world. Wasn’t she guilty of the same crime every time she avoided going out in the rain, or each time she offered up a wild excuse to escape enjoying a lazy summer day swimming in the enchanted lake with her friends? When she hedged nervously around the schools indoor pool during winter physical education classes, or when she refused to go sailing with her mother and father even though her father wanted nothing more than to share all aspects of his life with her and teach her everything he knew about being a mariner, was she not committing the same wrongs? And why? Because she feared the physical pain of scales piercing through her flesh and the emotional aches of abandonment when her friends saw her scraping and scratching at her own skin in desperate and frantic motions as she cried from the raw agony of ripping out each individual scale until she was free of the tiny, burning knives that her body attacked her with.  
The piercing memory of the first and only time Audrey had seen her transform forced its way to the forefront of Syrena’s mind, pushing her to relive the horrorstruck look on her friends face as she watched Syrena pluck the sharp edged, opalescent scales from her legs after an accidental fall into a fountain forced her to change. She remembered the thin rivulets of blood that had painted her legs and the shrill tone of Audrey’s harsh words calling her a freak. Worse, she remembered every time Audrey had used her knowledge to lord over Syrena, turning their once innocent friendship into indentured servitude with affable benefits.  
The sound of fabric tearing drew Syrena back to the present. Lonnie was proudly displaying the slit she’d made in her skirt, flashing the barest hint of her thigh beneath the skirt to the girls around her. Syrena felt the new sense of confidence rushing off of her friend in tidal waves and couldn’t help smiling and presenting the girl a thumbs up.  
“Now I’m cool,” Lonnie said, turning back to the mirror to admire herself again.  
“Like ice,” Mal agreed with a smile and for once, Syrena didn’t here sarcasm in the purple haired girls voice. Instead, she almost sounded friendly poking innocent fun at Lonnie for her extreme behavior.  
Jane stepped up to the mirror too, pushing in front of Evie and Lonnie and tearing a slit in her own skirt.  
Syrena and Mal let out matching surprised gasping laughs as Jane stared, wide eyed, at her reflection, hands covering her mouth as regret welled in her. “What did I just do?” she gasped, looking around at each girl, “mom’s gonna kill me!”  
The other four girls burst out laughing at the silly comment. Even with newfound confidence, Jane was still not ready for such rebelliousness. The small tear in her otherwise pristine blue dress was apparently the toe across the line from momma’s girl who did no wrong to wild child with an agenda of mischief. It only took a moment before Jane joined them, looking down at the slit and giggling until none of them could stand for laughing so hard.  
When her rib cage started to ache, Syrena acknowledged silently that it had been an extremely long time since she’d had so little restraint. She and Audrey didn’t laugh like this, they didn’t enjoy each other’s company like it seemed this group had the potential to. She knew in that moment that she wanted more of this though. The nervous, bubbling cauldron that had been her stomach since Ben had announced his plans to bring the villain descendants to Auradon was finally abating and she felt more relaxed sitting there with two strangers, a girl who’d barely said more than ten words a year to her and a friend she’d always kept at a distance because she wanted to protect her from Audrey’s potential cruelty, then she had in the decade she’d known the future queen.  
She was done with distancing herself though, with putting Audrey first at all times. Syrena wanted to give this elated, light feeling a chance to thrive. Even if it turned out to be a side effect of oxygen deprivation from laughing too hard.   
The attempt would be worth any outcome.


	4. The Tourney Match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Syrena gains more confidence in herself and Ben declares his love for...not Audrey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: See Previous Chapters :)
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read and to Publius1788 for being the first person to leave a comment! I'm glad you're enjoying the story thus far and hope you stick around!
> 
> Comments, Kudos and Feedback fuel my soul, please leave them!

“Oh, but no, there’s plenty of…and the doors closed…”  
Syrena watched from her perch against the wall as the future king sighed heavily, staring longingly at the closed door of Mal and Evie’s dorm room.  
“Good talk?” she asked with a soft chuckle, pushing off the wall to approach her friend. Ben faced her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Syrena felt for the boy, he was trying so hard to make this plan with the villain kids and the Auradon kids work that he was starting to take each rejection personally.  
“Am I doing something wrong?” he asked, a dejected sigh sagging his shoulders.  
“Ben,” she huffed out a breath, wrapping an arm around his weighted shoulders in a small hug, “you’re doing everything you can and you’re doing it well. It’s just going to take time. Does it help you to know that Mal has made a name for herself among the girls ever since she used a spell to fix up Jane and Lonnie’s hair?” she smiled tenderly at him. It wasn’t a lie. All Syrena had heard the female population gossip about was how amazing Mal’s magic was.  
“I’d heard something about that,” he nodded with a weak laugh.  
“And Jay is quickly making a name for himself with Tourney. Didn’t coach give him his jersey today?” She continued on, tugging the prince toward her room for a relaxing cup of tea. “Carlos is surpassing expectations in all of the computer classes. He’s amazing with technology and programming is practically becoming second nature to him. Which is surprising considering how little experience he’s had with it until now. And he adopted Dude? Wasn’t he, like afraid of dogs when he started here?”  
Ben chuckled louder this time, sitting himself down at the small tea table Syrena had set up in front of her dorm window while she busied herself setting up the electric kettle she kept on hand. “He said his mom told him all dogs were rabid pack animals. He ran away from Dude so fast on the field the other day that, by the time I’d caught up with him, he’d climbed a tree.”  
Syrena giggled at that, pulling out two teacups and placing a bag of mint tea in each. The room quickly filled with the aromatic scent of the fresh leaves. Syrena could hear Ben’s deep inhale behind her and, turning to take the cups to the table, she couldn’t help but smile at the prince. Slouched down in the chair with his eyes closed, sunlight streaming in through the picture window to warm him, he looked peaceful. She set the cups down gingerly, not wanting to disturb his moment of tranquility, before turning back to retrieve the kettle as it started to whistle.  
This was a common practice for them when Ben was feeling overwhelmed with his prince training, school responsibility or, more often than not, his relationship with Audrey. Syrena would make them tea and listen to him vent his frustrations until he felt at peace again. Sometimes they would drink the soothing beverage in silence, Syrena would sit with a book or homework and let Ben mull over whatever was bothering him until he found a solution or asked for her opinion. Their tea parties could last twenty minutes, offering Ben a brief interlude from a busy day, or so late into the night that Ben would have to sneak out of Syrena’s dorm room in order to avoid running into Fairy Godmother or Audrey and the questions that they might ask him.  
Syrena enjoyed these moments with Ben. They’d been friends for a long time, but when he had started dating Audrey, they’d had to spend less time together or risk the wrath of Audrey’s jealousy. But in her room with a cup of tea in their hands, Syrena felt like they hadn’t lost any time. She was glad he trusted her enough to talk to her about his problems.  
“Tell me again that I made the right decision?” Ben requested, sipping the steaming beverage with a happy sigh.  
“Of course, you made the right decision Ben! It’s been less than a month since the merger and, yes, it’s been a difficult transition for some people…but that doesn’t mean what you did was wrong. All good things are difficult to achieve, if they weren’t, they wouldn’t be worth doing. But I think that, when your father created the isle and the barrier, he did it because that was what was best for the kingdom at the time. But there are wounds that haven’t been healed because no one has had to face the past. Now we have people like Audrey who’s holding a grudge against Mal for something that neither of them had any involvement in. That isn’t right and you are giving our generation, all of our generation, the opportunity to heal and grow and change for the better by learning to embrace that none of us have to follow the destinies our parents have planned out for us. We’re free to make our own paths and follow them.” Taking a deep breath, Syrena stared down at the sweet-smelling amber liquid in her cup. She hadn’t expected to say that much, hadn’t really realized that she’d thought so much about the proclamation Ben had made or the events that followed. She’d wanted to get to know the Isle kids, sure, but that was because they’d arisen something inside her that she couldn’t explain and if there was one thing that she’d inherited from her mother it was her curiosity for the unknown.  
“I’m glad to know someone feels that way,” Ben chuckled, nudging Syrena’s hand with his teacup playfully until she looked up at him. When she did, he graced her with a grateful smile which she returned. They tapped their teacups together and took matching sips, the liquid burning their throats and pooling in their bellies to warm them from the inside out. Ben finished his cup first, setting it back on the table carefully, eyes focused on his hands as his mind whirred with more thoughts.  
“What else is bothering you?” Syrena asked when she’d drained her cup as well, she rose to grab two more tea bags and began readying their second cups.  
“I think I want to break up with Audrey.”  
The simple statement jerked Syrena’s attention back to the prince, scalding water leaping out of the kettle mouth and sloshing across the table. The red head reacted just fast enough to avoid getting splashed herself, fear of exposing her scales to Ben keeping her on her toes as she rushed to grab a bath towel to mop up the mess. Ben took the towel from her immediately, taking control of cleaning while mumbling apologies.  
“You want to break up with Audrey?” Syrena repeated, unsure if she’d heard him correctly, but more concerned that she had and couldn’t decide how to feel about it. On the one hand, she and Ben could be friends again in the open. On the other, Audrey had built her entire future on marrying Ben and becoming queen. Her grandmother had groomed her for that exact purpose and had spent all of Audrey’s formative years teaching her that anything less than queen was unacceptable.  
“I don’t love Audrey,” Ben continued, laying the damp towel across the table and taking up refilling the teacups. “I don’t know that I ever did, but it was…convenient, I guess. Now though, I’m not so sure I want to be with someone just because they make things easier. I want to be with someone because I love them, and they love me. Someone I can learn to rule with, so we can make the kingdom thrive together.”  
“Is there someone else?” she asked, retaking her seat across from him and picking up her teacup to blow across the steaming liquid. Ben mirrored her, not meeting her eyes, gears turning in his head as he worked out how to answer her.  
“Maybe. But I’m not sure yet. And if there is, I’m not sure that she would be interested anyway.”  
Syrena took a tentative sip, the beverage was still much too hot to drink but the scalded tongue she received gave her time to think through her next words very carefully.  
“I’m sorry, I know Audrey is your friend too, and I shouldn’t be unloading all of this on you anyway, but I needed to tell someone.”  
Syrena smiled, erasing all the prudently planned questions in her mind. It didn’t matter who it was, he would tell her when he was ready so asking now and forcing him into a corner wasn’t what he needed now. Instead, she reached across the table to take hold of his hand, smiling brightly at him. “Whoever she is, I hope that it works out and I hope that you are happy. That’s all that matters.” She squeezed his hand gently, gladdened when he turned his hand over to squeeze back.  
“Thank you, Syrena.”  
“Anytime Ben.”

~

It was the day of the first Tourney match, the school was abuzz with excitement as people talked about who would win and by how much. Girls gossiped about which players were cutest and Syrena noticed that Jay’s name was now counted among the list.  
Ben was lighter on his feet as exhilaration and apprehension competed within him. He’d been much more himself since he and Syrena’s tea party but today was the most Ben-like she’d seen in a long time. She was happy to see her friend happy again.  
Audrey had noticed the change in the prince as well and had attributed it to herself, as usual. Though Syrena had gotten cocky and asked her friend what exactly Audrey had done differently to bring about such an amendment. The brunette had sputtered and hummed half sentences, unable to give an exact answer and had finally settled on “I just make him happy.” Which Syrena had laughed at, though not to her friend’s face. Ben hadn’t mentioned anything else about breaking up with Audrey since their talk and, as they walked out to the courtyard to put their schoolbooks away in their lockers and she had to bite her tongue against Audrey’s vindictive sneer directed towards the group of girls who’d all had their hair redone by Mal’s magic, Syrena hoped he hadn’t changed his mind.  
“Do you think they actually paid for those?” Audrey whispered haughtily, glare remaining firmly fixed on the made over girls.  
Syrena tried to ignore her while she unloaded her bag into the metal locker, instead she listened to Jay who was taking his newfound popularity as far as he could by flirting with the girls Audrey was bashing. She suppressed a snicker as the giggling lot swarmed the railing Jay was leaning against, a prince reigning over adoring subjects and loving every second of it.  
“She did it to Jane’s hair, too, and Fairy Godmother’s not happy about it,” Audrey continued, glossed lips pouting indignantly.  
“What’s the harm?” Ben asked and Syrena winced, she didn’t have to look to know that was the wrong thing to ask.  
“It’s gateway magic!” Audrey whisper-shrieked, “sure, it starts with the hair,” she started, voice raising a few octaves as her frustration rose.   
Syrena closed her locker gently, turning to face the small, pink, rage filled girl to listen more closely.   
“Next thing you know it’s the lips and the legs and the clothes and then everybody looks good and then…where will I be?” the squeaking pitch of her voice faded as she frowned and widened her eyes at Ben, hand placed demurely over her chest as she feigned innocent concern.  
“Listen, Audrey-”  
Whatever Ben was going to say was quickly cut off by Audrey’s centering breath and quick topic change.  
“I will see you at the game after my dress-fitting for the coronation, okay?”  
“Okay…” Ben replied, defeated.  
“Bye, Bennyboo.” Audrey placed a quick air kiss on his cheek before turning to Syrena leaning against the lockers. “Syrena, you’ll also need to get a dress-fitting scheduled. Flora, Fauna and Merriweather don’t have time for you to procrastinate.”  
“Oh, actually Audrey, I’m having someone else do my dress. I talked to Flora, she said they hadn’t started on mine anyway, so I figured it’d be okay. I didn’t want to take up any of their time.” Syrena smiled sweetly at her friend but her eyes were alighting with challenge.  
Audrey’s perky smile turned dark almost as soon as Syrena started speaking and didn’t stop until the pink rage had returned. “You what?” she tone was low and slow, almost a hiss. “How do you expect to stand with us if you’re not dressed appropriately?”  
“I’m pretty confident that Evie knows exactly what appropriate coronation attire is, but if you’re really so worried, I’ll find somewhere else to sit.” Syrena slid a quick glance to Ben, hoping that this small display of defiance might spark within him.  
“Evie?” Audrey’s face was a mask of disgust and fury, “you would let one of them dress you?”  
Pushing off the locker, Syrena eyed the small crowd that had gathered around them. Audrey followed her gaze and quickly realized that if she wanted to keep up her façade of perfect princess and future queen, she’d need to leave this confrontation immediately. Syrena could read Audrey’s mind as if the thoughts played across her eyes like a script, clearly, she didn’t care about her reputation, but Audrey did, and she wasn’t going to let something like Syrena ruin everything she’d worked for like this. The brunette took another centering breath, eyes closing and hands with the fingertips pressed together pulling the air in front of her face as if she were pulling out the negativity in her mind.  
“We will discuss this after the game. When you’ve had time to rethink this rash decision and come back to your senses.”  
“I’m not changing my mind Audrey.”  
“Later!” Audrey shrieked, turning on her heel and stomping away, pushing her way through their audience in a flurry of swishing hair and flailing hands.  
When Syrena looked to Ben again, he was staring at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. “What did you just do?” he whispered, but her answer was cut off when Mal’s Audrey impersonating voice rang out.  
“Hey, Bennyboo!”  
Syrena stepped back, letting Ben take the few steps to close the distance between himself and Mal. “I’m gonna go…anywhere else,” Syrena explained, though Ben and Mal weren’t paying attention anymore. “Not that either of you care,” she giggled, walking down the outdoor corridor towards the dorm wing. She did actually have a meeting with Evie, though she was supposed to be tutoring the girl for their upcoming Lit test. She hoped she’d be able to convince the blue haired girl to make her coronation dress, otherwise she’d be royally screwed.

“Oh my gosh, I have the perfect design!” Evie gushed, flouncing over to her ‘workspace’, literature textbooks left forgotten on the desk. Syrena watched the girl rifle through pages and pages of potential outfits and half-done sketches until she found the right one with a triumphant “ah-ha!”  
Taking the offered piece of paper gingerly from Evie’s grasp, Syrena couldn’t believe how beautiful the design was. She knew Evie was good, she’d seen plenty of sketches and Evie was always flaunting original, handmade outfits, but this was beyond comprehension.  
“Evie, this is…” no words seemed right to describe the concept.  
“I was thinking, like, a nude base with the sheer mesh over the top and then blue lace detailing embroidered into the mesh. What do you think?”  
Syrena met Evie’s eyes over the desk, looked back down at the sketch and then back to Evie. The girl was so enthusiastic, her eyes bright and shining with inspiration, her smile absolutely radiant. It was clear that she didn’t get to talk to people about her work very often and having someone ask her to make something for them, instead of her offering first, made her feel accomplished and her talent appreciated.  
“I love it, Evie,” Syrena finally said, taking hold of Evie’s hand and holding her gaze so the girl could see the sincerity there, “thank you.”  
Her bright eyes sparkled with what Syrena suspected were unshed tears. Was it really so much different on the Isle that simple things like ‘thank you’ were uncommon enough to illicit such a reaction? Syrena made a mental note to mention that to Ben, maybe they could expedite his timeline and start bringing more Isle kids to Auradon. No one should have to feel so unappreciated that something as unassuming as manners brought them to tears.  
“Oh,” Syrena leaned down to her bag, pulling out the small coin purse she’d placed inside and handing it over to Evie. “I hope this is enough, I haven’t ever actually bought a dress, so I’m not sure…if I’m wrong let me know and…”  
Evie opened the pouch and almost instantly shut it again, eyes going wide and lips curling into a watery smile. The unshed tears fought harder to break free.  
“Oh Evie, I’m sorry,” Syrena exclaimed, moving to hug the other girl, “I didn’t mean to upset you!”  
Evie’s arms tightened around her, a sound somewhere between a sob and a giggle escaping her throat, “You didn’t, I’ve just…I never thought anyone would ever pay for my designs. I’m so…” she paused, searching for the right word. Syrena pulled back from the embrace to watch her new friend struggle.  
“Happy?” she supplied, hoping she was right.  
Evie nodded enthusiastically, pursing her lips to hold back another sob. Syrena pulled her into another hug.  
“I’m glad.”

Audrey didn’t speak to Syrena when she came into the locker room to get ready for the Tourney match.  
She didn’t ask Syrena to brush her hair or pull in up into a ponytail.  
Didn’t ask Syrena if her uniform looked okay, or demand Syrena pay her a thousand compliments while doing her make up.  
Instead, Syrena watched from the corner of her eye as the brunette girl moved silently around the locker room, snarling and snapping at anyone that got in her way or dared to speak to her. Audrey did her own hair, combing through the silken locks with harsh, angry yanks of the hairbrush. Her makeup was painstakingly slow, each swipe of the eyeliner exact. Every stroke of eyeshadow precise.   
Syrena almost wanted to cheer at the sudden sense of freedom while she talked with the other team members and did her own hair and makeup, something she usually had to speed through because Audrey forced her friend to dedicate all preparation time to ensuring her own perfection.  
The other girls didn’t acknowledge the separation openly, but Syrena had caught a few of them whispering about what had gone down in front of the lockers. She thought Audrey must be able to hear them too because her lip gloss application was becoming more vicious with every swipe. When their eyes met through their mirrors, Syrena offered her friend a beaming smile which was promptly returned with a sneer and a snap of the lip gloss cap being returned to its tube. Syrena’s smile slipped into a smirk, closing her locker door with a gentle push and turning around to pull on her royal blue game day tights.  
“No tights,” Audrey snapped from her vanity, eyes glinting with malice.  
Syrena froze, one foot already in the garment, staring at the brunette girl with wide eyes. Surely, she wouldn’t go that far, she thought desperately, her previous sense of strength evaporating as the realization that, yes, Audrey would go that far to win an argument, dawned on her.  
“You’re the only one who ever wears them,” Audrey continued, her ‘captain’ voice coming out. “We look disconnected that way and no one can focus on our routine when all they can see is the odd girl out wearing tights in the heat.”  
Slowly, Syrena rolled the tights back down, pulling her foot out and setting the item across her bag. She had to be strong, to show Ben that fighting was worth it as long as it meant they were happy in the end. “You’re right,” she breathed, picking up her skirt to slip on, legs feeling uncomfortably on display in the tiny, well lit room. Surely everyone would see her scars in here and one of these gossips would run off to spread her secrets to the world. Still, she didn’t faulter. She stared Audrey down, shimmying into the tight skirt and zipping it with a finality she didn’t fully feel. Her eyes darted around, waiting for someone to point at her and ruin years of hard-won secret keeping.  
But no one did.  
Audrey’s hard glare fell as she too noticed that not a single girl in the room seemed to be paying attention. Her plan for total humiliation was failing.  
With renewed courage, Syrena slipped her shirt off and pulled on the uniform top, moving at a relaxed pace instead of rushing through the motions like she usually did, afraid someone would see the scars lining her sides and chest. Still, no one noticed. Syrena felt the welling pride of her small victory in her chest and grinned again. With a final fluffing of her ponytail, Syrena clapped her hands and rallied the girls to make their entrance onto the field.

“This is a nail-biter, folks,” the announcer’s voice rang over the speaker, echoing around the field but still barely heard over the excited cheering of Auradonians led by their enthusiastic cheerleaders.  
Syrena bounced on the balls of her feet, facing the bleachers filled with the marching band, students, faculty and parents. A sea of blue and gold and explosive energy as everyone screamed and chanted for their team.  
“There’s forty-seven seconds left on the clock. We’re all tied up. The Sherwood Falcons, two. The Fighting Knights, two,” the announcer continued. Syrena glanced at the scoreboard and then turned to face the field, still bouncing and cheering as she watched the boys. Jay and Carlos were on the bench, waiting to be put in and Syrena silently prayed that the coach did put them in. A win against their fiercest rivals in the first match of the season would be the confidence boost the team needed to continue strong and come out victorious.  
“and now a substitution by coach…”  
Prayers answered, Syrena cheered louder as Jay rose from the bench, hauling Carlos up with him. Over the enthusiastic shouts of the crowd and her fellow cheerers, Syrena couldn’t hear what was being said, but she watched as Carlos sat himself back on the bench, only to be forced back up by Jay. She giggled at the amusing scene. It seemed Jay was adamant that his friend would be on the field with him, whether the white-haired boy liked it or not.  
“He’s bringing that hothead Jay in,” The announcer stated over the screams rising in volume. Syrena joined the crowd in their delight, glancing over her shoulder to spy the only two not dressed in school colors. Evie was jumping up and down, hands a blur of animated clapping, blue curls fluffing around her enthusiastic face. Next to her Mal was smiling, a mix of shock and pride as she joined Evie’s clapping.  
“They break from their huddles; this is going to be a big moment here.”  
Syrena listened to the announcer, stilling her movements to watch the field intently, eyes tracking numbers eight, one hundred and one and seven as they lined up opposite the Falcons and waited for the game to begin again.  
“And the tipoff is ready!”  
A whistle blew and the boys jerked into action, each one moving positions like finely oiled machinery.  
“Long pass goes to Jay. Jay Dishes off to Prince Ben.”  
Syrena let out a yelp of excitement as Carlos dropped down behind one of the Falcons, using his shield as cover as the boy took an unknowing step back. Taking advantage, Carlos raised his shield and the opponent rolled over it, landing sprawled on his back.  
“Nice little block by Carlos!” The announcer complimented, but Syrena couldn’t focus on him as she laughed at the short monkey-like dance the white-haired boy did around the fallen foe.  
“And now Jay gets the ball back. Here comes Jay!”  
The Isle boy was a blur of blue streaking across the field, one of the arrow cannons released, projectile hurdling towards Jay who easy leapt and rolled mid-air to avoid the dangerous deterrent. Syrena leapt for joy, hands clapping as fierce satisfaction gripped her. He didn’t miss a beat as he landed back on the ground already running and flinging the ball towards Ben in an excellent pass.  
Ben took off with the ball, sprinting down the field toward the end goal. The impending victory tasted sweet on Syrena’s tongue.  
“Prince Ben moves over wide, gives it back to Jay. He’s in the clear! Shot!” The announcer bellowed; his own excitement clear in his tone. “Oh, what a save by Philip the Falcons’ goalkeeper!” He cried and the crowd let out a wave of dejected groans but Syrena remained quiet. They still had time. They could pull through.   
They would pull through.   
“Come on guys…” she whispered; hands clasped under her chin. Her eyes darted to the scoreboard. Twenty-two seconds left.  
“You could cut the tension with a sword!” The announcer thundered, “the long ball is played into Jay. Jay, great jump, great leap and a great move by Jay…Big block from Chad!”  
Syrena cheered for the blond boy. She didn’t really like Chad as a person, but on the tourney field, the boy was a bulldozer.  
“Jay dishes off to Prince Ben and then Carlos with a big block, goes down!”   
Syrena’s eyes flew to the white-haired boy, chewing her lip nervously as she watched him lay on the grass until Jay swooped by, grabbing his friend’s shirt and hauling him back to his feet and down the field. Relief welled in her until she realized Jay was using Carlos as a human shield through the kill zone against the arrow projectiles. She watched them move together, Carlos using his shield to deflect danger while Jay focused on their path. They were one person in that moment, moving quickly and precisely through mid-field until they were clear of the dangers. She whooped for them, jumping up and down, adrenalin pumping through her veins.  
“The ball goes back to Jay.”  
Jay and Carlos split on the field, Carlos ahead and lowering himself to the ground, shield braced above him. Jay launched the ball at the shield, using it to send the ball soaring into the air and out of reach of the Falcon player waiting to steal it before they took their shot at the goal. Dropping his shield and his body to the ground, Carlos gave Jay the step he needed to rise into the air, retrieving the ball and toss it at the perfect angle for Ben to bat it past the goalie and into the net.  
The buzzer sounding the end of the game went unheard as the crowd erupted with boisterous cries and exuberant shouts of victory.  
“Prince Ben has won it!” The announcer cried, “what an unselfish play by Jay! What a team! Incredible!”  
The Knights rallied around one another, grabbing each other in ecstatic hugs, paddles raised in the air as they drowned in their glory.  
Syrena moved to join the rest of the cheerleaders on their way to meet the team on field with their congratulations. She was intent on getting to the boys and ensuring they knew just how excited she was for them. But Ben made it to the bleachers first, ignoring the wave of girls coming to celebrate with him and taking the microphone away from the announcer.  
“Excuse me. Excuse me, can I have your attention, please?” he called into the mic, the crowd silenced almost immediately. Syrena stepped closer to Ben, watching him rise up on the arrow cannon pedestal to continue his announcement. Everyone stared around in confusion, waiting for someone to have insight on what was about to happen, but no one did.  
“There’s something I’d like to say,” Ben went on and then paused to look around at the hundreds of faces staring at him. Syrena took another step, wedging herself between the pedestal and Audrey without realizing it. Audrey didn’t seem to notice her either as she looked up at Ben in hopes of getting some clue as to what was going on in his head. “Give me an ‘M’!” he shouted into the mic finally, arms raised and curled over his head to make the letter.  
The crowd responded, mimicking him with confusion tinged enthusiasm. Syrena followed along, glancing around to see the Knights and the other cheerleaders doing the same.  
“Give me an ‘A’!” He shouted again and again they mirrored him.  
“Give me an ‘L’!”  
Oh, dear Syrena thought, realizing quickly what the whole of the field had just spelled. Maybe she’s wrong though, maybe he was spelling something else, like…malaria…even in her head the idea was ludicrous. Her eyes drifted to the stands where she was able to pick out Mal and Evie quickly. Evie was joining along in the fun without question but Mal…Mal looked almost ill. She moved her gaze again, looking to her right in time to see the light bulb flicker on above Audrey’s head.   
“What does that spell?” Ben asked the crowd.  
“MAL!” they all responded.  
Audrey’s arms lowered, face shattering as she looked around her with a desperate need that Syrena couldn’t place.  
“Come on, I can’t hear you!” Ben urged the crowd, who screamed the Isle girl’s name again louder. “I love you, Mal! Did I mention that?”  
Syrena’s head whipped around to face Ben so fast she thought she heard it crack. Still, she heard Audrey’s pathetic whimper before the brunette took off towards the locker rooms.  
Ben cried out for a beat and Doug responded, taking control of the marching band and starting an up-beat rhythm. Syrena’s face broke into a grin, scoffing laughter bubbling in her throat as she watched her friend and future king start to dance on the pedestal.  
Did I mention  
That I'm in love with you.  
And did I mention  
There's nothing I can do.

Syrena looked around as the cheerleaders and Fighting Knights began to dance along with the music and she couldn’t help but admit that it was catchy. She grinned and began to move with them, snapping her fingers to the beat and moving to join a group of cheerers rocking out to the rhythm. She watched Ben leap down from the pedestal and laughed again at his strange behavior.

And did I happen to say  
I dream of you everyday?  
But let me shout it out loud if that's okay  
That's okay

The crowd began to sing along with him, echoing his words as if cheering him and his confession of love on.  
Carlos and Jay joined Ben at the front of the crowd, dancing in time with him with stupidly large grins on their faces and they were quickly joined by the other Knights while the Syrena and the cheerleaders continued to twirl and sway as backup dancers to the impromptu performance.

I met this girl that rocked my world like it's never been rocked  
And now I'm living just for her and I won't ever stop  
I never thought that it can happen to a guy like me.  
But now look at what you've done, you got me down on my knees.

Because my love for you is ridiculous.  
I never knew  
(Who knew?)  
That it can be like this.  
My love for you is ridiculous  
My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!  
R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!  
It's ridiculous!  
Just ridiculous!  
And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss.

Well did I mention  
That I'm in love with you  
And did I mention  
There's nothing I can do.

And did I happen to say  
I dream of you everyday?  
But let me shout it out loud, if that's okay  
If that's okay.

I gotta know which way to go, c'mon gimme a sign  
You gotta show me that you're only ever gonna be mine.  
Don't want to go another minute even without you  
'Cause if your heart just isn't in it, I don't know what I'd do.

As he sang the lines, Syrena watched him feign fainting, only to be caught by his teammates and flung through the air and back on his feet. The crowd erupted in more screaming and applause, except for Mal who Syrena noted looked momentarily scared for Ben, her hands clasped over her mouth to cover a gasp until he was firmly planted back on his feet.  
Syrena didn’t have time to wonder about Mal’s concern as she was grabbed by three of her squad mates urging her up into the air with three other girls, each supported by four hands clasped around their ankles with a girl on the ground behind each pair to catch anyone if they fell. Syrena yelped, a split second of fear coursing through her as she felt the soft fingers around her bare skin, but there was too much excitement exploding across the field, the odd ridges on her skin weren’t even on the other girls’ radar. With a breath of relief, Syrena focused on catching the ankles of the flyer girls on either side of her, letting them brace on her as they formed a pyramid in the sky. When she released them, the supporters lowered their arms and then lifted them quickly, using the momentum to fling their flyers into the air and releasing them to spin and flip through the sky before landing back in the arms of their supporters.

Because my love for you is ridiculous.  
I never knew  
(Who knew?)  
That it can be like this.  
My love for you is ridiculous  
My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!  
R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!  
It's ridiculous!  
Just ridiculous!  
And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss.  
C'mon now!

Alright!  
Alright!

Syrena was hoisted back into the air again in time to see Ben strip off his shirt and toss it into the stands for Mal to catch, which she did, a soft smile lighting her face.  
She was tossed again, higher this time, allowing for an extra aerial spin, and then deposited back onto the ground as the squad moved forward to join the Knights watching Ben ride the mascot horse across the field a few paces.

Because my love for you is Ridiculous.  
I never knew  
(Who knew?)  
That it can be like this.  
My love for you is ridiculous  
My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!  
R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!  
It's ridiculous!  
Just ridiculous!  
And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss.  
C'mon now!

She had to cover her mouth to stifle a shocked laugh when, after rolling off the back of the horse, Ben allowed himself to be lifted by three of the male cheerleaders only to be throw, like his shirt, into the crowd. She let out a breath of relief when he was safely caught and then carried on the arms of the crowd to be deposited before Mal with an eruption of applause around them. Syrena joined in with the cheers, clapping her hands and grinning wildly at the pair.   
The world around them was too elated to even notice that Mal hastily rejected Ben’s kiss, deflecting him by hiding behind his jersey in her hands.  
“I love you, Mal! Did I mention that?” Ben repeated, wrapping an arm around the girl’s shoulders and pulling her into a hug. The crowd applauded the couple, whooping and screaming their approval.  
No one seemed to notice Audrey prancing up the bleachers, shoving her way through the Auradonians to rip the mic from Ben’s hand.  
“Chad’s my boyfriend now!” she announced perkily, as if she hadn’t just ruined a moment and there weren’t hundreds of eyes staring at her in disbelief, confusion and annoyance. Chad pumped his fist in the air, looking around the crowd for someone, anyone, to start cheering for him, although he didn’t look all that disappointed when no one did.   
“And I’m going to the coronation with him. So, I don’t need your pity date.” Audrey bent down, pressing her lips solidly against Chad’s. The crowd groaned and ew’ed their disgust and surprise. Syrena looked to Evie, her pretty face was contorted with jealousy, anger and frustration, her pale cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. Syrena wanted to go to the girl and offer the comfort Mal was oblivious to the need of, but before she could make a move, Ben was snatching the mic back and returning his attention to Mal   
“Mal! Will you go to the coronation with me?” he practically shouted at her and the crowd held their breath as they waited for her answer.  
“Yes!” She exclaimed into the mic, looking up at Ben with the biggest grin Syrena had ever seen on the girl’s usually stoic face.  
“She said yes!” Ben cried into the mic, reveling in the uproar of applause and excited cheering.  
Syrena watched Audrey descend the bleachers pouting and jerking Chad along behind her. She felt a twinge of guilt for her former friend. While she’d supported Ben’s choice to end things with Audrey, she hadn’t expected him to so, so publicly.  
“Hey, c’mon they’re waiting for us,” Carlos appeared at Syrena’s side, nudging her shoulder and jerking his chin in the direction of the growing mob of cheerleaders and Knights as the announcer started speaking again. Syrena smiled at him, wrapping an arm around his middle and squeezing gently.  
“You did pretty good out there, you know. I think you have a real future in being a human shield,” she joked, releasing him with a grin and a laugh when he grimaced back at her. They walked together into the screaming crowd, immediately being sucked into the celebrating, jostling mass of bodies as Jay, trophy in hand, was lifted onto the shoulders of the Knights.  
“And there he is, Jay, the most valuable player. How do you like that?” the announcer asked. Syrena let herself be absorbed into the celebration, clapping and grinning widely up at the long-haired boy looking so happy.  
She found Ben’s eyes in the mass of bodies and smiled at him, holding a thumbs up. He grinned back at her before disappearing as the team moved to carry Jay around the field, whooping and hollering their win to the world.


	5. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A friendship grows, a romance blossoms and the truth about Syrena's scars comes out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: See Previous Chapters :)
> 
> Because I'm so uplifted by my first comment on my first posted story, I'm updating twice in one night.
> 
> This was probably one of my favorite chapters to write and I hope it's a good one to read.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who keeps clicking 'next chapter' and remember that comments, kudos and feedback are always appreciated :)

The week following the tourney match was filled with more schoolwork than any of the student body of Auradon Prep had been prepared for. Teachers were giving tests left and right in addition to mountains of homework, clearly not the least bit concerned that their students’ minds were focused solely on the upcoming coronation ceremony, only a few weeks away now, they couldn’t be bothered with schoolwork!  
Syrena and Evie had been meeting in the library after dinner to work together on their unreasonably long, ten-page papers on Shakespearean plays and sonnets because Evie had confided that she was slowly starting to drown in the growing mountain of assignments.   
She’d mentioned that, in addition to making Syrena’s dress for coronation, Mal had also asked for one since she was now supposed to be standing with the prince during the ceremony. Syrena had told Evie that she thought Mal’s request was only fitting since the purple haired girl didn’t know any of the fairy dress makers in Auradon and wouldn’t need to, seeing as she had the best dress designer of them all as a best friend.  
But even with their late nights in the library, Syrena knew Evie still felt overwhelmed. Syrena couldn’t blame her, she herself was starting to feel the toll of being overworked and had made a point to check in with Jay and Carlos to see how they were fairing and invite them to her and Evie’s study sessions.  
Jay had tried to come to one but sitting still and quiet in a library was not something he was built to do, and he quickly abandoned ship. Carlos had become a regular study partner with them but didn’t seem to need nearly as much help as Evie did, so he often ventured off on his own to work on the library computers.  
Now, sitting in Mr. Delay’s science class, staring down at a test sheet Syrena was recalling forgetting to study for, she could hear Evie across the table muttering and whimpering under her breath as she searched within her purse for something that she was clearly desperate to find.  
“Looking for something?” their teacher’s sharp, nasally voice raked down Syrena’s spine like the sound of nails on a chalkboard.  
Doug looked up from his test, eyes on Evie looking startled and a little scared as she snapped her purse closed. Her eyes widened to deer-in-headlights proportion as Delay reveled the small hand mirror Syrena had seen Evie with on their first day of classes. He waggled the looking glass at their table, face stern.  
“Thank you, Chad,” Delay said, patting the preening boy on the back. Syrena scoffed at him, eyes rolling in her head. “It’s gratifying to see someone still respects the honor code,” Delay continued his praise. Syrena had to bite back a comment about Chad’s other girlfriend, Ruby, and what she’d think about his ‘honor code’ now that he was dating Audrey.  
Evie glared across the table at the blond buffoon. Syrena glanced at Doug, kicking out her foot to connect with his shin. He stifled a yelp, looking at her with eyes that read “what was that for?” Syrena motioned with her hand for him to say something, anything, to help Evie out.  
“It will be my recommendation that you are expelled,” Mr. Delay commented, smug satisfaction evident on his wrinkled face.  
“Mr. Delay, I-” Evie started.  
At the same time, Doug rose to voice his on indignation, “But that isn’t fair,” he exchanged a quick glance with Evie. Syrena reached out, touching her hand and surreptitiously holding one finger to her lips. “Obvioulsy she wasn’t cheating since she didn’t have that…whatever it is.”  
“It’s called a magic mir-” Evie started but stopped when Doug turned on her.  
“You’re not helping. Stop,” he whispered to her before turning back to Delay. Syrena nudged Evie’s hand with her textbook, holding a finger to her lips for firmly. “Maybe she needed another pencil,” Doug defended.  
“Actually, I was-”  
Syrena smacked her forehead with her palm. Could the girl not shut up?  
“Really, don’t help,” Doug told her again with a sigh of frustration. Evie lowered her chin to her chest, looking forlorn and repentant. Syrena sighed in relief, at least she was a decent actress.  
Together, Doug and Evie whispered “please?” Evie looking up at Delay through her thick lashes, the picture of innocence.  
Delay had no choice. “Well, if you can pass this test, I’ll return your property and let the matter drop.”  
Syrena watched Doug mouth ‘thank you’ and Evie nodded, though Doug did have to catch the blue haired girl and cease her vengeful glaring at Chad.  
Once Delay’s back was turned, Syrena air-fived Doug and smiled at Evie, winking at her once before landing the heel of her shoe into the boney part of Chad’s calve.  
Chad yelped, turning icy blue eyes on her.  
“Oops,” she mouthed to him, “Slipped.” She gave him a small, unapologetic shrug of her shoulders and caught Evie’s small smile before ducking her head down to try and remember enough of the answers to the test to score a passing grade.  
Doug finished first, turning his test in to Mr. Delay, who preferred to grade on the spot so his students could leave knowing they were failures. Others filtered out slowly after him and when Evie rose before Syrena, the red head gave the girl a quick arched brow. Evie flashed a pair of crossed fingers and mouthed “luck” before prancing over to Delay.  
Turning back to her test, Syrena found it harder to focus as she wondered if Evie had passed with a high enough grade to keep Delay to his word. She was given a bit of confidence when she heard the classroom door shut behind Evie.  
Walking into the hallway with her A- test in hand, Syrena was surprised to be suddenly attacked by an earsplitting shriek of elation and a tight hug.  
“B+!” The girl flaunted, holding the test booklet out for Syrena’s inspection.  
“Evie, that’s fantastic!” Syrena gushed, pulling the girl into another hug. “I knew you could do it!”   
“Thank you, I don’t know that I could have if it wasn’t for those library nights.” They broke apart to look at the cover of the exam booklet again, squealing in delight at the bright red B+. “I’ve got to show Doug!” Evie suddenly said, looking to Syrena with a bright smile.  
“Check the courtyard by the cafeteria,” Syrena offered, hugging her friend one more time before shooing her off to find Doug.  
“Seems like you’ve made a new friend.”  
Syrena turned to face Ben coming up behind her, a rolled-up exam booklet in his hand.  
“Guess I need one since Audrey isn’t speaking to me,” Syrena joked. She’d thankfully been able to avoid the pink rage by spending more time with Evie, Ben and sometimes Jay and Carlos. She’d taught Carlos how to play fetch with Dude after the tourney match and it had become an afternoon past time for them to all hang out in the courtyard, taking turns throwing something for Dude to chase.  
Spending time with the pair made Syrena homesick for her own dog, the floppy, old, sheepdog had been her father’s until she’d gotten old enough to walk, then Max had become her best friend and guardian. She’d told Carlos about him the night she’d taught him how to play fetch and he’s confided that, even though he’d only had Dude for a short amount of time, he understood why the Radcliffe’s fought his mom so hard to protect the puppies. Dogs had a way of wiggling their way into your heart with their love and loyalty.  
Ben knocking into her shoulder gently woke Syrena from her thoughts and she smiled up at him. “Have I told you lately what a great idea it was to bring them here?”   
“Yes, but feel free to continue while we go eat lunch, because I maybe, definitely, asked Mal on a date and need your advice.” He offered his arm to her, a perfect representation of princely behavior, and she accepted it, looping her arm through his and motioning with her hand for him to lead them on.

“You want my help planning a date with Mal?” Syrena repeated, looking up from her tray of food to eye him suspiciously. “You know I’ve never been on a date, right?”  
Ben frowned, face scrunching up as he tried to think back and find an example to prove her wrong, “yes you have…Audrey…”  
“Never set me up with anyone because I couldn’t be distracted from being at her beck and call. I think I went to one of her parties with Chad once, because she made me. But I don’t consider that a date and I might have to find a way to murder you if you ever tell anyone that,” she chuckled, flinging a French fry at him.  
Ben caught the fry between his teeth, munching happily at it before sliding her tray to the center of the table to help himself to more. Syrena frowned, batting his hand away and tugging her tray back possessively until he pouted at her. She slid the tray back to the center of the table with a roll of her eyes and a sigh.  
“I don’t know Ben, what does she like?”  
“Umm…” he faltered, picking up a handful of fries to shove in his mouth while he tried to think of an answer.  
“Okay, what about a picnic. It’s nice and simple, not too fancy that you might scare her off but not so boring that you’ll put her to sleep.”  
“A picnic?” he hummed, picking up a few more fries while he considered the idea.  
“You know, since they got here, all four of the Isle kids have been overwhelmed by all the new foods they get to try. Why not pick out a few of your favorites that maybe Mal hasn’t gotten to try yet. Like strawberries. The cafeteria hasn’t served them in a while, so I think they’re a safe bet and who doesn’t love strawberries? Take some chocolate and some sugar with you for her to dip them in.”  
“A picnic in the courtyard isn’t very romantic,” he countered, shoving another fry into his mouth. Syrena frowned, reaching out to the tray to grab some of the fries for herself while she thought about a location. She glared at him when her fingers found air instead of fried potatoes.  
“What about the enchanted lake?” Syrena suggested.  
“You hate the lake,” Ben pointed out.  
“I do, yeah, but I can still admit it’s a quiet and peaceful place with romance-y vibes. You’re not likely to be interrupted and she’ll probably love seeing water that isn’t, ya know, blocked off by a barrier?”  
“You might be a genius. Did you know that?” the prince questioned, rising from his chair and leaning over the table to place a friendly, albeit sloppy, kiss on her cheek.  
“Ew, Ben germs!” She shrieked, giggling and wiping her cheek with her sleeve furiously. “Ugh, I’ve been contaminated.”   
Sticking her tongue out at him as he picked up her empty tray to deposit at the return on his way out, she couldn’t help wanting to fling something else at him as he shouted at her from the cafeteria doors across the room, “You’re amazing, Syrena, thank you!” Before disappearing into the hallway.

The day of Ben and Mal’s date had come after days of painstaking planning with Lumiere and Ben to ensure everything went exactly right. The food had been picked, an assortment of fruits for Mal to try and sparkling cider to wash it down. Lumiere was setting the picnic up in the gazebo at the edge of the enchanted lake, with the help of Mrs. Potts who was all too thrilled to make up the basket.  
Syrena had helped Ben decide on an outfit and had packed a bag for him to take that included towels, since they were going to most likely go swimming and she was certain Ben would forget such a necessity.   
She’d met Mal and Evie for breakfast that morning, though Mal hadn’t eaten or talked much. Evie had taken Mal’s silence as a chance to instruct Syrena to come to their dorm room after Ben picked up Mal so that Evie and Syrena could do the first fitting for Syrena’s coronation dress.  
So, while Syrena was thrilled to see Ben off on his date that she’d helped him plan, with the girl he really seemed to like, she couldn’t deny the butterfly feeling that was erupting in her stomach as the minutes ticked closer to her first look at the final result of the sketch she’d fallen in love with. Evie had been insistent that Syrena not see the dress until her first fitting, she didn’t want to spoil the surprise with half done work. So Syrena had patiently waited. And now that it was down to scant minutes before the reveal, Syrena was jittery with her excitement.  
She glanced at the clock by her bed, Ben should be picking up Mal any second.  
Running to her door, Syrena opened it just enough to see into the hallway where she had a perfect view of Evie and Mal’s room.  
Ben was there, his back to Syrena, two bike helmets under his arms, as he stared into the room.  
“For the first time, I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful,” she heard him say and had to bite her hand to keep from making too much noise. He was so disgustingly adorable. She’d have to help him work on better pick-up lines.  
Mal stepped out of the room, taking one of the helmets from him and following him towards the stairs and out to their date.  
Evie appeared in the doorway, staring after them with a smile on her lips. Syrena pushed her door open a little more, peeking out at the same time Evie looked her way. They shared knowing smiles and excited giggles and then Evie crooked her finger for Syrena to come join her and the butterflies took flight again.  
Evie laughed at her as the red head came through the door, perching on the bed and staring expectantly up at her blue haired friend. With a casual flick of her wrist, Evie directed Syrena’s gaze to the armoire in the furthest corner of the room. Syrena looked at the wardrobe and then back to Evie, waiting for the go ahead. All it took was a nod and Syrena was tugging open the wooden doors to come face to face with a dress even more beautiful than she could have imagined. She reached out her hand to touch the lace but stopped short. It was so pretty; she didn’t want to ruin it on accident.  
“You’re going to have to touch it to put it on,” Evie said from where she’d perched herself on Mal’s bed, the one nearest the full-length mirror.  
Carefully, Syrena lifted the hanger off the bar, not touching the dress until she had to pull down the zipper in the back. It only took her a few moments to slip out of her clothes and slip on the dress, pulling the thin straps over her shoulders and situating the bodice so that it was straight.  
“Perfection,” Evie whispered, pulling the zipper up and securing Syrena in the gown.  
Hesitantly, Syrena turned, moving slowly across the room to face the full-length mirror. She twisted left and right to see every angle of herself. Taking in the feel of the smooth satin of the dress’s core against her skin and the rough feeling of the lace overlay as it scratched gently at her palms.  
“I’m positive this is the most beautiful dress I’ve ever gotten to wear,” Syrena said finally, meeting Evie’s eyes in the mirror and smiling at the girl who’s detail oriented eye was focused solely on ensuring every stitch, seam and fold was absolutely flawless. “Thank you, Evie, really.”   
The blue haired girl glanced up from her inspection to smile back, satisfied that her work was top notch and her friend was happy.  
After Evie had taken a few pins to the bottom of the dress to finish the hem now that she had the proper length secured, she helped Syrena unzip the dress and waited patiently for her to hang it back up so she could start sewing again.  
Syrena moved slower this time, not wanting to be out of the dress yet. She couldn’t wait until coronation day when she could wear the dress for everyone to see. A slight satisfied thrill tingled up her spine as she thought about Audrey’s face when the girl saw her dress. Flora, Fauna and Merriweather had never made anything so fine in their entire existence with all of their fairy magic combined, of that Syrena was certain.  
Once it was back on the hanger and laying across Evie’s sewing table, Syrena moved to lay across Evie’s bed to watch the girl work.   
Syrena herself had never been good at sewing, her mother wasn’t very good at it either, so it wasn’t a skill that got passed along. So, watching Evie work, her hands moving with the machine so gracefully it hardly looked like she was moving at all, was fascinating.  
“Can I ask you a question?” Evie asked just loud enough to be heard over the whirring of the machine, not looking up from her task.  
Syrena shifted on the bed, her head hanging over the edge so she could watch Evie upside down, “of course.”  
Evie was silent for a moment, brow knit in concentration, not for her work but for the words she was trying to put together. “How…I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” she started and Syrena sat up to face the girl properly, suddenly nervous. “Your…your scars…” Evie finally said, and she didn’t need to add anything else for Syrena to know what she was asking.  
Her mind replayed changing into the dress just a few moments ago. She’d been so enthralled with getting it on that she hadn’t stopped to think about her scars being on display. Evie would have had a clear look at them in the light of the room, would have felt the ones on her shoulders and wrists when they’d been at the mirror.  
“You don’t have to tell me,” Evie repeated, foot coming off the pedal as she cut off the machine, leaving the dress where it lay for the moment to look at Syrena.  
Syrena worried her lip, fingers fidgeting with the thin golden band around her wrist, she didn’t have to tell Evie. But…Evie was her friend; friends were honest with each other.  
You haven’t told Ben something in the deep black of the back of her mind reminded her, he’s supposed to be your friend too.  
You showed Audrey and look what happened, another voice hissed from the same dark corners.  
“Syrena,” Evie whispered, placing a gentle hand over Syrena’s. She’d moved from her table to sit next to her on the bed. Syrena felt the genuine warmth radiating from the blue haired girl’s open face.  
“It’s a curse, I guess,” Syrena started quietly. “Not like a magic one or anything, but genetics, I guess. We aren’t really sure, because it’s never happened before, but the best guesses my family has come up with is that, since I’m part mermaid and part human, my body doesn’t know how to handle the transformation. There’s never been a child born of sea and shore before, so we don’t really have anything concrete to base it on, but whenever my skin gets wet, my scales come through.” She took a deep breath, chancing a peak up from where she’d focused on her bracelet to look at Evie’s face, trying to gauge her reaction.   
What she saw in the warm, chocolate brown eyes, surprised her.  
There was no fear or disgust like there had been with Audrey. She didn’t look like she was faking pity or trying to hold back laughter. Evie looked truly interested and hurt by Syrena’s pain.   
“When they come through, it’s horrible. Like a thousand knives ripping through my skin from the inside out. And that’s just part of it,” Syrena started, eyes down. She didn’t want to see Evie’s face. Instead she let her nail trace over the vambrace like scars around her right wrist. “I’ve only ever been fully transformed a handful of times. The first…change that I remember, I was five I think, was the worst one. I was terrified of what was happening to me, my mom and dad didn’t know what to do, I was in so much pain,” her voice caught on a dry sob as she remembered the burning, ripping agony that had petrified her in the water. “I couldn’t move or breath because of how badly it hurt. They don’t just come out of my legs and arms. They’re all over my body and I was so completely unprepared for it all. My mom never had a problem changing from fin to legs and back again. Neither do my cousins, although they can only change on the day of a full moon,” Syrena chuckled humorlessly, switching her attention to the thin gold bracelet around her left wrist, fingers tracing over each emerald shard imbedded in the metal. Evie didn’t speak, but when Syrana didn’t begin speaking again right away, the blue haired girl reached out to place a gentle hand on the red head’s knee. Syrena smiled without looking at her friend, took a deep breath and resumed her story.  
“The pain went away after a while I think, but it’s just as likely that I became numb to it. All I remember is my mom coming into the water with me and holding me until it was over. Then we were happy for a while. She swam with me, showed me things under the water that I never would have imagined existed. It’s beautiful under the sea, Evie, it really is. Everything is so much more colorful than you would expect. And I was so…excited to be seeing all of it,” a sad smile curled her lips, tears welling up in her eyes at the same time. “Then we came out of the water, mom shifted back to legs without a second thought and I was okay for the first few minutes when she carried me to the towels my dad had laid out for us. It wasn’t until my scales started to dry that the pain returned.” Hesitantly, Syrena held her right hand out to Evie, palm up, and pointed out the jagged ridges, the light pink scar tissue shiny against her pale skin and completely visible so close up. Evie’s cold fingers followed the path Syrena traced on her skin, sending a shiver through her.  
She’d never let anybody touch her like this before.  
“The scales can’t go back in the way they came out, I’m not sure why. It’s almost like they grow back anew each time I expose my skin to water. And since they can’t go back where they came from, they have to push themselves out while my skin tries to heal itself. Which just makes them cut through the healed flesh again. The scars would probably be a lot worse if I hadn’t learned that plucking them out helped to speed up the process.” She felt the phantom pain of each sharp-edged scale being yanked from her body, like a loose tooth on a string attached to a closing door, the quicker she pulled them out, the quicker her body was able to stitch itself back together. She flipped her wrist over in Evie’s hand, letting her see every angle of the scale shaped scars. Then she shifted away enough to pull her shirt up on one side and reveal the line of matching scars curving up her side from her hip to under her breast. “They go further up,” she whispered, letting her shirt drop back down when she heard Evie’s sharp intake of breath but saying nothing.   
Syrena shifted uncomfortably, feeling the silence of the room like a physical weight in her chest.   
She was ready to run, ready to flee to the safety of her own room where she could turn out the lights and hide under her covers and pretend none of this had happened when Evie’s arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tight. Syrena felt something warm and wet drip onto her neck and realized that Evie was crying. Turning as best she could, Syrena returned the embrace, feeling tears well up in her eyes as well.  
“I’m so sorry,” Evie whispered into her hair, pulling back slowly and wiping her cheeks. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated and Syrena smiled a watery, halfhearted grin.  
“No one’s ever apologized to me about it before. It’s not your fault Evie. It’s no one’s fault.”  
“But…it’s not fair,” Evie whimpered.  
“Has anything ever been fair for you? Or Jay? Or Carlos or Mal? Or any of the other kids on the Isle? Why should I be any different? Why should anyone be?”  
Evie frowned at that, but Syrena continued anyway.  
“When Audrey found out about me, we were six. I’d fallen into a fountain at her castle and I’d run inside to hide before my skin started drying. Audrey found me tearing the scales out on the bathroom floor. I was covered in blood and tears with this little pile of scales next to me and I was so afraid and in so much pain. And Audrey just laughed at me. She said I was a freak and that I was a monster. She told me that no one could ever know because they’d ship me off the Isle for being so ugly.”  
Evie’s tears dried and her face hardened as she listened to Syrena. Each word making her hate the girl who’d been so cruel, even as a child. Evie had known some of the most terrible and terrifying villains in the world and none of them compared to someone so vile that they would convince their own friend to hide herself because she was different.  
“I started covering myself up all the time, especially as the scars got worse. I don’t let people touch me if I can help it. And Audrey never let me forget that without her, I’d be a lonely, friendless, freak.”  
“You are not a freak,” Evie bit out, jerking Syrena’s chin so that she could look into her eyes. “I know some of the worst, most powerful people and none of them would be able to stand what you go through. You’re not a freak and you’re not ugly. These,” she traced her fingers over the rough, pale ridges on her wrist, “these are just proof that you are so much stronger than you know.”  
“I’m starting to realize that. Ever since you four came to Auradon, I’ve felt something changing. At first, I was afraid of it, but now I’m seeing that you all belong here. You’re all changing things for the better.”  
They embraced again, Evie’s chin resting on Syrena’s shoulder so she couldn’t see the look of concern that flashed across her pale features. If they went through with their parents’ plan, they would lose everything they’d achieved in the few short months since coming to Auradon. And Evie wasn’t sure the changes that would follow would fall under anyone’s definition of better.


	6. Family Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Auradon Prep's Family Day has arrived.
> 
> Friendships are severed, loyalties are tested and strawberries are devoured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing but Syrena :)
> 
> Hello all! Thank you again to Publius1788 for commenting! 
> 
> And thank you to everyone who is still sticking with this story.
> 
> This was another fun chapter to write and it also includes my absolute favorite Syrena line to date. So I hope you all enjoy it too!
> 
> Comments, Bookmarks, Kudos and Feedback are appreciated!

“Please, Syrena, please, please, please,” Ben begged, hands clasped in front of him as he knelt on the floor in front of her.  
“Stop!” Syrena demanded with a laugh, holding her hand out to pull the boy back to his feet, “I’ll do it, just stop whining. It’s not very princely.”  
“Thank you!” Ben pulled her into a quick hug, kissing her cheek again. “I will find a way to repay you, I promise,” he continued, backing down the hallway where he’d cornered her coming out of Lit class. “I’ve gotta go, now, but after Family Day I swear I’ll make this up to you.”  
Wiping her cheek with her sleeve, she waved him away with her other hand, eyes rolling as he disappeared around the corner. And here she’d thought she’d managed to escape Family Day since her family wasn’t coming. Leave it to Ben to drag her into a dance number, with Audrey, in front of the student body and their parents, when she didn’t have a horse in the race. With a solemn sigh, Syrena turned on her heel, making her way to science and resigning herself to the fact that she’d need to enlist Evie in helping her get ready for the event. It wouldn’t be hard to take Ruby’s place in the performance. She knew the routine and the lyrics. It would take three minutes of her life and then she could disappear into the crowd with a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and people watch with Evie, Jay and Carlos.  
How bad could it be?

Standing across from Audrey in line as the group got into place to begin the welcoming number for the families, Syrena was acutely aware how bad this could be. The brunette hadn’t stopped glaring at her since Syrena and Ben had walked into the gazebo together. It was a look filled with burning malice that she felt against her skin like sun burn. Part of her wanted to run and hide, but another part, small but growing, that had been spending more and more time with Evie and the others, wanted to smile back at her, all glittering teeth and sardonic eyes.  
She went with option two and the shock that Audrey quickly concealed as the music began to play was enough of a confidence boost to send Syrena sashaying out of the gazebo behind Lonnie. She buried a triumphant smirk at Audrey’s two step delay and small stumble as she hurried out after Ben.  
“Ma chere Mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. And now we invite you to relax. Let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents: your dinner!” Ben began, moving casually up the middle of the two lines his fellow performers made, to the center of the courtyard. Syrena let her eyes scan the crowd, noting the familiar faces of Ben’s parents, dancing in time with the music to the right of the brick path currently being used as a stage. She saw Chad’s mom further ahead, looking beautiful in her silken blue dress and chatting casually with Audrey’s grandmother.  
A pang of disappointment darted through her as she thought of her own parents not being able to attend the celebration for the second year in a row. She tramped the feeling down quickly, forcing her face into a bright smile as the music cued the singing to start.

Be our guest, be our guest  
Put our service to the test  
Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie  
And we'll provide the rest  
Soup du jour, hot hors d'oeuvres  
Why, we only live to serve  
Try the grey stuff, it's delicious  
Don't believe me? Ask the dishes

The routine started simply enough, each row executing small, bouncing bows in opposite directions in time to the words, before they shifted into rocking side to side, still half bowed and ending with straight backed stances, arms crossed in front of the body, hands under their cloth napkin prop where they remained as the rows bobbed alternatingly.  
Syrena didn’t miss Doug behind her, getting too into the rocking that he missed the third cue, nearly knocking into Chad before he righted himself and joined back in with the singing. She smiled at him over her shoulder, trying to stop the giggle bubbling in her throat.

Yeah, they can sing, sing, sing, they can dance, dance, dance  
After all, Miss, this is France (uh-huh)  
And a dinner here is never, never second best (come on!)  
Go on, unfold your menu  
Go on, take a glance and then you'll (alright)  
Be our guest (hey), be our guest (hey)  
Be our guest, yeah  
Yeah, come on, yeah  
Be our guest, guest, yeah, yeah

The front two rows of girls parted to stand along the edge of either side of the brick pathway, allowing the line of all boys forward to join Ben in the center, before coming together again to form two new lines behind the six boys rapping along with the music.  
With a flourish, the group tossed their napkins into the crowd, delighting in the small cheer that went around them as people reach out to catch the trophies.

Beef ragout, cheese soufflé, hey  
Pie and pudding en flambé, flambé  
We'll prepare and serve with flair  
A culinary cabaret (sounds so good)  
You're alone, oh and you're scared, yeah  
But the banquet's all prepared (it's all prepared)  
No one's gloomy or complaining  
While the flatware's entertaining (flatware's entertaining)  
We tell jokes (jokes), I do tricks (tricks)  
With my fellow candlesticks (fellow candlesticks)  
And it's all in perfect taste, that you can bet (you can bet)  
Come on and lift your glass  
You've won your own free pass  
To be our guest (If you're stressed)  
(It's fine dining we suggest)  
Be our guest, be our guest  
Be our guest (yeah)

Syrena was starting to get into the dance, feeling less and less hesitant with each step and putting a little more flair into each swish of her hips.  
Their lines shifted again, Syrena and Lonnie swaying together, giant mirrored grins on their faces, as they moved towards front and center. She didn’t notice Audrey’s small heeled foot extending out just a little further than necessary until she’d already caught it with her toe. Lonnie, with quick reflexes, tried to catch Syrena’s arm before her knees met with brick but missed and Syrena went down with a less than dignified yelp of panic.  
There was a small gasp from the crowd and Syrena felt heat rise on her cheeks. She didn’t want to look at the audience, eyes instead tracking the edges of the pathway, looking for an escape until she glanced up and saw Audrey’s pink lips contorted in a cruel, satisfied sneer.  
Defiance roared to life within her as she pushed herself back to her feet, she felt Ben closer behind her, hand brushing her back, she nodded to him over her shoulder, then to Lonnie who also looked partially concerned as she continued singing.  
Stepping back into place, Syrena came back in as the group drew together, hands waving in the air, and made sure that her wave was just a tad more apparent as it arched down to pop Audrey in the cheek, nails snagging in her hair with a sharp tug as it came back up. Lonnie stifled a laugh, nudging Syrena encouragingly with her hip as the group swayed back and forth.

(Yeah, come on)  
Be our guest (Be our guest)  
(Come on, come on)  
Be our guest!

The song ended with a dramatic pose, Syrena making sure that hers was perfectly positioned to block out Audrey with an arm across her face.  
She was tired of being outdone and humiliated by the pink rage and she hoped Audrey realized now that if she wanted a fight, she’d get one. And Syrena was learning how to play dirty.  
With a smirk over her shoulder to Audrey, Syrena flounced off to the dessert table with the chocolate fountain, spying Carlos moving with clear determination towards the sweet treats.  
“Evie, you look amazing!” She greeted her blue haired friend, “You do too, Mal,” she added, taking in the purple haired girls obvious Evie Original.   
Mal smiled nervously, mumbling “thank you”, before taking a small bite of the strawberry in her hand.   
Evie was grinning at Syrena, chocolate eyes glittering, making the red head slightly uncomfortable. The wicked look on her friend’s face couldn’t mean anything good.  
Syrena did a quick assessment of the girl, searching for any sign of the looks cause. Evie had Dude in her arms and was rocking the adorable mutt as a new accessory as she waited for Carlos and Jay to return to her, stomachs sore with the amount of chocolate they would no doubt consume, but nothing else looked out of place and her eyes were still focused on Syrena when she looked back to them.  
“Did you actually just hit Audrey in the face?” Evie asked slyly, smiling proudly at the red head. Syrena shrugged her shoulders humbly, head down and eyes fixated on Dude to cover the smile she couldn’t suppress. Instead she scratched Dude behind the ears and played with his little paws as a distraction. “That was absolutely amazing,” Evie complimented with a smirk,   
“Very rotten,” Mal added, warming Syrena with the endearment usually reserved for the Isle four.  
Syrena looked over to the chocolate fountain, thinking about the plate of chocolate covered strawberries she’d promised herself earlier. She quickly reconsidered the idea as she watched Jay lean into the fountain, tongue extended to catch the melted delicacy in his mouth like a dog. Carlos cheered his friend’s actions, which caused Syrena to laugh, drawing Evie and Mal’s attention, they quickly joined her amusement.  
“Guess I don’t really need the chocolate anyway,” Syrena joked. Evie nudged her, a mocking stern look appearing out of place on her pretty face.  
“So, do we get to meet your parents today?” she asked, sparing the boys another glance, “or are we too much of an embarrassment?”  
Syrena felt her smile faulter, remembering how she felt during the performance as she looked out at the other parents and feeling the distress revive itself inside her, clutching her heart tightly. Evie instantly took notice of her friend’s distress, a gentle hand reaching out to rest on Syrena’s clothed bicep. “My parents aren’t coming,” Syrena mumbled finally, lips curled down in a frown.  
“Oh…” Evie whispered.  
“Mal!” Ben called from the picture booth, smiling brightly and hand waving for the purple haired girl to join him. His parents stood on either side of him, eyes wide and mouths agape.  
“Guess it’s time to meet the parents,” Syrena said, she and Evie smiled at Mal, watching as she excused herself to run over to the prince.  
“You’ve met Ben’s parents, right?” Evie asked, eyes fixated on Mal’s introduction to the King and Queen.  
“Yeah. They’re nice,” Syrena assured with a nod. She’d known Belle and the King for as long as she could remember, and they’d never been anything but kind to her. She didn’t think they’d be openly rude to Mal, but she could see, even from her place across the garden, the shock they were trying to mask as they were introduced to the Isle girl.  
“Good,” Evie breathed, “good.”  
When Ben and Mal looked back to the chocolate fountain, pointing them out to the King and Queen who waved politely, if not hesitantly, the three other Isle-borns put on their best faces. Which Syrena felt was a good effort as she saw Evie’s precious, open smile. Until she looked back at the two boys, who were waving and smiling chocolate covered smiles, mouth’s still full of food. She chuckled at the pair, shaking her head adoringly.  
“Well, I guess you’re stuck with us,” Evie said with a grin, linking her arm with Syrena’s as Mal and Ben returned to the group to inform them that they’d be joining in a game of croquet with the King and Queen before lunch.  
Syrena and Evie stayed together, choosing to socialize with Belle instead of playing the game. Syrena made sure to mention to the Queen that Evie was a fashion designer and that she was excited to be featuring an Evie Original at coronation.   
Evie had confessed to not knowing how to play and Syrena hadn’t ever been fond of the game herself, so they made a unanimous decision to watch from the sidelines instead. Carlos and Dude had run off too, deciding to play in the grassy field while Ben tried to teach Jay how to correctly play croquet. Neither of them said it, but they both kept their eye on Mal, Carlos and Jay, ensuring they were all doing okay and, in the case of Jay minding their manners.  
It was Syrena who noticed Audrey’s grandmother approach Mal. Excusing herself from the conversation with Evie and Belle, she circled behind Mal and Queen Leah, taking a spot at the beverage table close enough to hear the conversation without looking like she was deliberately eavesdropping.  
“I’m sort of like a…transfer student.” She heard Mal say, smiling sweetly at the queen. It suddenly dawned on Syrena that Mal probably didn’t know who she was talking to, likely she’d heard stories from Maleficent about Leah, but since the snobby woman hadn’t introduced herself to Mal, there was no way for Mal to know.  
“Grammy!” Audrey called, circling her grandmother and grabbing her hand sweetly. Mal tensed, lips pursing but she tried to continue to smile through it. Syrena was proud of her, but took a few steps closer to the trio, just in case.  
“Grammy?” Mal asked cautiously.  
“Sleeping Beauty’s mother,” Audrey answered snidely, sneering at Mal. “Grammy, I don’t think you want to be talking to this girl,” she continued, looking Mal up and down with thinly vailed loathing. “Unless you feel like taking another hundred-year nap.”  
“What?” Leah asked, taking a step back from Mal to look at her more clearly. Syrena moved forward quickly, joining Mal’s side as the girl tried to maintain her friendly smile and failed, looking nervous and almost afraid.  
“You!” Leah shrieked and Mal jumped. Syrena caught her, hands squeezing the other girl’s shoulders reassuringly and glaring at Audrey over Mal’s shoulder.  
The shriek drew the attention of the other people in the garden, Fairy Godmother reacting first to make her way across the garden to defuse the situation.  
“How are you here?” Leah asked, “and how have you stayed so young?”  
Syrena wanted to scoff at the stupid question, but maintained her harsh glare and steady, silent support of the pressured girl. Ben appeared on the other side of Mal, taking up Syrena’s place and wrapping his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders when Syrena backed away to stand with Evie and Jay, still close enough to jump to Mal’s defense should they be needed, but out of the way enough so as not to seem threatening.  
“Queen Leah, it’s okay. Maleficent is still on the island. This is her daughter, Mal,” Ben introduced, smiling down at the girl with fierce adoration before turning back to the queen. “Don’t you remember my proclamation to give the new generation a chance?”  
“A chance to what, Ben? Destroy us?” the queen smarted back and Syrena felt anger well within her. “Come on,” Queen Leah said to the crowd, “you remember, don’t you? The poison apples and the spells.”  
Fairy Godmother stepped forward, taking Leah’s hand and attempting to tug her away from the altercation, but the queen wasn’t having it.  
“Spells,” Leah repeated, looking forlorn, “My daughter was raised by fairies because of your mother’s curse.” The old hag didn’t care that Mal looked disparaged and heartbroken by the reminders of her mother’s evil past, she continued on her tirade of cruelty and guilt tripping. “Her first words, her first steps, I missed it all!” she shouted into Mal’s face before turning into the comforting arms of Fairy Godmother to whisper, “you mustn’t trust her.”  
“I’m so so-” Mal started, stepping forward to touch the despaired woman’s shoulder.  
Chad slapped her arm down, stepping between Mal and the Queen to shout “go away! Stay away from her!” in Mal’s face, like she was a stray dog that wouldn’t stop begging for food. Ben stepped between Mal and Chad, nudging his girlfriend back and Syrena took hold of her again, rubbing her arms gently to calm her.  
“Don’t do this, Chad.”  
“What? They were raised by their parents, Ben,” Chad explained, as if that were an anomaly and not a well-known fact. “What do you think villains teach their kids? Huh? Kindness? Fair Play? No way, okay? Uh-uh.”  
“Would you please muzzle your moron?” Syrena snapped at Audrey, glaring at the girl over Mal’s shoulder, eyes shifting to Fairy Godmother to silently implore the woman step in and regain order over this disaster.  
“She stole another girl’s boyfriend,” Chad added and Mal’s patience snapped. Ben released the hand he was still holding, pushing Mal fulling into Syrena’s hold as Chad moved around him to dig into Evie and Jay next.  
“You enjoy hurting people,” he shouted, pointing at Jay, “and you,” he turned to Evie, “you’re nothing but a gold digger and a cheater,” he snarled.  
Syrena stepped around Mal, ready to launch herself at the blond boy and rip the arrogant smirk off his face, but Evie beat her to it.  
“Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who’s the biggest jerk in the land?” she asked her little compact looking glass and holding it out to reveal Chad’s reflection. He smacked her hand out of his face, knocking the mirror out of her grasp and Jay leapt forward next, fist curling into Chad’s lapels, holding him in place as Evie reappeared with a blue perfume bottle. She spritzed him with two shots of blue mist and the boy collapsed, nearly taking Jay down with him but Ben was there to catch him and haul him back.  
Syrena grabbed Evie’s hand as the girl approached, pulling both Isle girls back as other patrons of the party swarmed the now unconscious Chad. Audrey was screaming hysterically, making sure everyone knew that it was Evie who had delivered the knockout.  
Pulling out of her grasp, Evie took Mal’s hand and dragged her towards the school, whispering a quick “come on Mal,” as she pulled her away to collect Jay as they made their escape. Syrena started to follow, but Ben grabbed her. He called out to the retreating forms, but they didn’t stop.  
Without releasing her, Ben walked over to his parents. Belle looked shocked and scared, looking between where the Isle kids had disappeared and where the Auradonian’s were tending to Chad.  
The King looked unfazed, pulling out a cloth from his jacket to wipe at his glasses, he spoke in a level, fatherly tone. “I feared something like this would happen.”  
“This isn’t their fault!” Ben argued.  
“No, son, it’s yours,” the king replied, replacing his glasses and then offering his hand to Belle. She looked torn as she took her husband’s hand, she looked to Syrena and then to Ben with sad eyes.  
“Mom?” Ben asked, his tone broke Syrena’s heart. But still his mom allowed herself to be led away.  
Alone, Syrena and Ben stood together as their former friends turned their backs. Syrena looked to Doug and Lonnie, hopeful that they would at least stay loyal to the cause, but they too turned their backs. Audrey passed them with a scoff, dragging Chad behind her.  
Hesitantly, Syrena placed her hand on Ben’s back, leaning into her friend, offering what little support she could muster as she watched his hard work crumble around them, wondering how they would reconcile this cataclysm of an afternoon.

~

Syrena had convinced Ben that they needed to go find their friends immediately, before more harm was done. She had a decent idea as to where they might have run to and dragged Ben along behind her as quickly as her heels across the grass would allow.  
The tension in the courtyard hung like a fog around the students milling about. No one was talking, there were no friendly smiles or pleasant gossip. Syrena felt the unpleasantness like a weight upon her heart as she and Ben approached the four islanders seated around a picnic table, they were only a few feet away from the other students, but the distance felt much greater.  
“Hey, Guys. How is everyone?” Ben asked, his smile was forced, nervous energy filtering out of him through fidgeting hands. Syrena stood next to him, feeling like she was absorbing his anxiety. She had to stifle the urge to take a few steps away from him, instead, she grabbed one of his hands, showing the united front they represented.  
No one replied. They didn’t even look up.  
Evie and Mal were looking down at their small plates of food, Evie moving her fruit chunks around the plate aimlessly. Carlos stared out into the distance, eyes unfocused and sad. The look broke Syrena’s heart, but not nearly so much as the despaired look on Jay’s usually smiling face. He watched his hands, turning them back and forth as if he were inspecting them. She could practically hear Chad’s vile words repeating themselves in the boy’s head.  
“Hey, listen,” Ben started again, placing a friendly hand on Jay’s shoulder. The boy jerked, brown eyes flicking up to eye the prince before returning to his hands. “Forget about it. All right? It was nothing. Forget about it. Let it go.” He moved around the table to stand behind Mal, placing his hands on her shoulders and rubbing gently.  
Syrena moved to, seating herself hesitantly in the empty spot next to Mal to face Evie, she reached her hand out, across the table to lace her fingers with the blue haired girl’s, a gentle smile curling her lips but not touching her eyes. The morose energy hanging over the table made true smiles impossible.  
“Tomorrow, after the coronation, I promise everything will be okay,” Ben reassured. Evie’s chocolate eyes moved up to meet his, a microscopic smile on her plush lips. Her hand in Syrena’s squeezed gently and Syrena felt the terrible fog start to lift.  
When Ben excused himself, he placed a soft kiss on Mal’s cheek and gave Syrena’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze before smiling at the rest of the table, straightening his suit coat and walking away.  
Mal didn’t react.  
“Listen, Evie, I wanna talk about earlier today. I just-” Doug started, sentence already half done before he reached the table, as if he’d been rehearsing what he was going to say, when he spotted her and then the words just kept coming.   
“Doug,” Chad snapped, startling Syrena. She hadn’t realized he and Audrey were sitting there until now. The pink rage was perched on the edge of their table, legs crossed in a very un-princess like way, the smirk on her pink lips was cruel.  
Syrena focused on Doug, looking up at him against the glare of the sun behind him. Her hand didn’t leave Evie’s, a constant support in this moment of uncertainty.  
“It’s my fault, Doug, I’m sorry,” Evie whispered, heartbroken.  
“No, it’s mine,” Doug refuted, ignoring Chad’s call to focus on his blue haired beauty.  
“Doug!” Chad repeated, rising from the table.  
“What?” Doug snapped back. A silent conversation passed between the two boys and when Doug looked back, the look in his eyes filled Syrena with disappointment.  
“Doug…” Evie pleaded quietly, eyes misting.  
“Sorry,” Doug whispered back, “I can’t.” He backed away from their table to rejoin the jerks.  
“Okay,” Evie whispered, after he’d already gone. Syrena moved around the table, shoving the untouched food tray out of the way, to wrap the girl in a tight hug. Holding her close and running soothing fingers through the perfect blue curls as the girl shook with quiet sobs of frustration and betrayal.  
From this side of the table, she could see Audrey coming through with the final blow. Jane walking with her to pass the table just behind Mal.  
“How long does she think that’s gonna last?” Audrey stage whispered to Jane with a mocking laugh. Mal tensed, feeling the girls behind her. Syrena could see the barely contained rage boiling within the purple haired girl. “Mal is just the bad girl infatuation.”  
“Yeah,” Jane agreed with a nasally giggle, “I mean, he’s never gonna make a villain a queen,” she continued, leaning down to hiss in Mal’s ear, loud enough for the whole table to hear. The pair walked away, cackling like the hags they were. Other girls and boys joined in around them.  
Syrena met Mal’s eyes over the table, she saw the war raging there and nodded once. No one that mattered would blame her for any retaliation. With a deep breath, Mal opened her spell book and read “beware, forswear, undo Jane’s hair” and with four quick motions of her hand screams and laughter rang out behind them as, in a rush of unseen magic, Jane’s perfect do returned to its awkward bob with the Minnie Mouse bow on top.  
As one, the islanders and Syrena rose, Mal clutching her spell book in one hand. Syrena noticed Lonnie doing a quick check of her own magic’d hair and smirked at the girl, feeling satisfied that she was afraid.  
“There’s a lot more where that came from,” Mal said to the Auradonians.  
“Excuse me, who do you think you are?” Audrey demanded, hand on her hip. Behind her, her army of magically enhanced beauties were dwindling they checked their altered elements and backed down, fear of losing their new looks outweighing their fear of Audrey.  
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Mal queried back, opening her book again and flipping pages. The girls and boys scattered like rats, only glancing back long enough to see if anyone had been spelled, not that they’d go back for anyone fallen if there had been.  
“I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,” Mal said, turning on her heel to face Evie.   
Syrena grinned, “I’m glad to hear it Mal. Ben will be happy too. He’s so excited to have you at his side when he’s crowned,” she gushed. She missed the look the islanders shared around her in her elated ramblings about Mal and Ben standing together. But if she’d stopped for a moment, she would have realized that what they were looking forward to, was not anywhere near the same thing. She didn’t though and with Evie’s arm laced through hers, the group made their way back to the dorms, renewed determination filling each of them.


	7. Coronation Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is the day of Ben's coronation and everything seems to be going perfectly.
> 
> But perfect isn't easy and something bad is just around the corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing except Syrena
> 
> Hello all!
> 
> We're getting closer to the end and I'm so excited.
> 
> I've already started the second installment of this series, which will follow Descendants 2.
> 
> So hopefully everyone still reading is excited for that, because I definitely am.
> 
> Shout out to my one loyal commenter, Publius1788! You're great and I look forward to seeing your comment every time :)
> 
> P.S. Sorry this one is so short, there really wasn't a good place to separate it, but posting it all together was super long.

The bells of the Auradon Cathedral tolled along with the cheering crowd of Auradonians awaiting the arrival of their future king. Hand flags waved in the air, decorating the sky with the pride of the land.  
Inside the cathedral, Auradon Prep students and their families were anxiously awaiting Ben’s arrival as well, Syrena among them, standing silent and close to the stage where she’d be witnessing her friend take the crown.  
Fairy Godmother was already on the stage, uncovering her wand in its display case to an awed crowd. Audrey was to Syrena’s right, with Chad and Cinderella, twirling in her pink, glitter coated gown like the foolish princess she was. Syrena ignored her though, remembering the look on her former friend’s face when she and her gown had stolen Audrey’s entrance limelight.   
Snow White had been interviewing Audrey, for her show Who’s the Fairest, when she’d seen Syrena entering and excused herself from the daughter of Sleeping Beauty, in the middle of the girl’s sentence, in favor of the daughter of Ariel.  
Since that moment, it seemed anyone Audrey was talking to would spot Syrena and either inquire about her to Audrey or leave the pink loving girl to approach Syrena directly.  
If nothing else went according to plan, Syrena would still be happy knowing that she’d stolen Audrey’s spotlight.  
“Oh, here comes Prince Ben now!” Snow White exclaimed, drawing the attention of everyone in the cathedral. People scattered to find their places, excited chatter filling the hall. Syrena straightened herself, tugging her long blue lace gloves back into place, the gloves had been a surprise addition from Evie, to make up for the dress having no sleeves to cover the scars on Syrena’s arms. She appreciated the gesture more than she had been able to vocalize at the time, because they came up high enough to hide the majority of the scars along her arms, the dresses back and neckline did the rest, coming up above Syrena’s collarbone and shoulder blades to cover any remaining. She knew there were still a few pale ridges exposed, but they were few enough that Syrena felt confident no one would notice.  
The roaring of the crowd outside the cathedral grew louder, followed by the fanfare of the band standing on the stairs leading to the door. With the heavy wooden doors closed, Syrena couldn’t see outside, but she tried anyway, standing on the tip toes of her stilettos, hopeful to see the white, horse drawn carriage that carried Ben and Mal with an x-ray vision that she didn’t have. Still, the nervous, excited energy bubbling inside her convinced her that a glimpse was possible.  
It was time.  
Queen Belle and King Beast entered the cathedral from the right-side door, taking their place on the raised dais. Mal was escorted in from the left-side door, taking her place at the foot of the platform, her eyes found Syrena’s across the blue carpet, with a quick smile which the red head returned.  
The children’s choir began the opening notes of their song, drawing Syrena’s attention to the balcony, eyes landing on Jay, Evie and Carlos and Dude standing three rows down. She smiled up at them, but they couldn’t see her.  
Then the heavy wooden doors of the cathedral opened, and Ben stepped in, standing tall and proud as he walked down the blue carpet to join his parents, his girlfriend and Fairy Godmother. Syrena beamed at him from her place at the dais steps, flashing a quick thumbs up before dropping into a curtsey as he approached.  
Fairy Godmother and Belle exchanged a hug before Fairy Godmother turned to the king with a curtsey. As Belle took her place before her throne, the king bowed, allowing Godmother to remove his crown. Ben kneeled before the glass encased wand as Fairy Godmother came around the pedestal to place his father’s crown on his head. Syrena smiled at her friend’s back, pride swelling inside her.  
The wand’s protective glass was removed, the former king holding the cover reverently as his wife lifted the wand gently from its stand to hand to Fairy Godmother who smiled adoringly at the artifact and Ben.  
“Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?” Godmother asked, voice catching with emotion.  
“I do solemnly swear.” Ben answered, voice ringing with confidence around the huge cathedral.  
“Then it is my honor and my joy to bless our new king,” Fairy Godmother stated, tapping the wand on either of Ben’s shoulders gently.  
Gasps echoed through the crowd, Syrena’s eyes shot up from Ben to the dais in time to see Jane snatch her mother’s wand from her hand, electricity crackled and exploded from the wand tip, shooting towards the ceiling in an uncontrolled blast.  
Jane’s eyes widened, hands shaking with the effort to control the wands power. The crowd of Auradonian’s inside the cathedral ducked and bowed away from the unstable force. Syrena among them as a few errant sparks leapt toward her face.  
“Child, what are you doing?” Fairy Godmother shrieked, running down the dais steps to her daughter’s side.  
“If you won’t make me beautiful, I’ll do it myself!” Jane cried, body jerking wildly as the wand lurched in her hands. Ben leapt from his bowed position to step in front of Mal, shielding her from more untamed sparks. “Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!” Jane tried to shout as her body danced around unwillingly, losing the battle for control with the wand.  
“Take cover!” the former king roared, and the crowd did.  
All except for Mal, who ran around Ben a flurry of purple silk and ruffles to grab the wand from Jane’s panicked hands.  
“Careful Mal!” Belle and Syrena shouted in unison as Jane tried to fight the girl off while still trying to get the wand under her control. With a vicious yank, Mal won the fight, holding the wand in her hand with a shocked look on her face. The crowd gasped as the sparks stopped instantly, murmurs flew around the echoing hall, a new fear gripping the room.  
Maleficent’s daughter had control over Fairy Godmother’s wand.  
Ben came around to stand in front of his girlfriend, hand out and voice strong but gentle. “Mal, give me the wand.”  
“Stand back,” the purple haired girl demanded, arms outstretched, and hands clasped around the wand. The heavy wooden doors opened again, Carlos, Evie and Jay running into the hall.  
“It’s okay,” Ben tried again, stepping towards Mal.  
“Ben, I said stand back!” She shouted again.  
“I told you so!” Audrey cried, stepping out of the crowd where she’d been cowering.  
“Be quiet Audrey!” Syrena barked back, stepping up to stand with Ben as Mal whipped around, wand facing the pink enemy. Chad screamed.  
Panting drew Syrena’s gaze to Evie, Carlos and Jay, standing at Mal’s back.   
“Let’s go!” Carlos ordered.  
“Revenge time,” Jay added.   
Syrena’s face contorted with confusion, eyes drifting to Evie’s, desperation coursing through her that this was all some kind of misunderstanding. But, when Evie wouldn’t meet her gaze, she knew that it wasn’t.  
“You really want to do this?” Ben asked.  
“We have no choice, Ben!” Mal sobbed, “Our parents-”  
“Your parents made their choice,” Ben interrupted, “Now you make yours.”  
The hall fell silent, waiting with bated breath to see what the villain kids would choose. Mal’s eyes darted around the room, landing on every familiar face but holding no one’s eyes.  
“I think I want to be good,” she finally whispered, lowering the wand just an inch.  
“You are good,” Ben and Syrena assured simultaneously, though Syrena’s eyes were fixed on the other three while Ben focused on Mal.  
“How do you know that?” She screamed, desperation tinging her words.  
“Because…” Ben hesitated, trying to focus his words, “because I’m listening to my heart,” he said finally.  
Mal sagged with sudden energy loss, arms dropping with the weight of the wand. “I want to listen to my heart, too.” She turned to face her friends, “and my heart is telling me that we are not our parents,” she told them with a tearful smile. “I mean, stealing things doesn’t make you happy,” she said to Jay, “tourney and victory pizza with the team makes you happy.” Jay and Carlos shared knowing smiles of agreement as someone in the crowd shouted “yeah!”, but Mal didn’t stop there. Turning to Carlos, she said, “And you, scratching Dude’s belly makes you happy, who would’ve thought?” a laugh erupted from her throat. “And Evie, you do not have to play dumb to get a guy. You are so smart.” The girls laughed chuckled together, tears filling their eyes. “And I don’t want to take over the world with evil, it doesn’t make me happy. I want to go to school and be with Ben, because Ben makes me really happy.” Mal turned to face her boyfriend, holding up her hand with his ring on it.  
Relieved smiles flashed around the room. Syrena moved forward in the momentary silence, stepping up to Evie and taking the girls hand in her own, dabbing carefully at the few tears that had escaped with quick swipes of her fingers to ensure her friend’s flawless make-up was unscathed by the salty lacrimation.  
When Mal faced them again, Syrena was standing as an ally, hand still locked together with Evie’s.  
“Us being friends makes me really happy,” Mal continued her speech, “Not destroying things.” With a brief pause to look each of her friends in the eye before holding out her fist to them. “I choose good, you guys,” she said with a surprised laugh.  
Jay was the first to connect his fist with Mal’s. “I choose good, too,” he said with a chuckle.  
Mal looked to Evie, who smiled her thousand watts smile back. Syrena slipped her hand away, watching with tears of her own forming as Evie joined her delicate fist with the other two. “I choose good.”  
All eyes turned to Carlos.  
“So, just to be clear,” the white-haired boy started, “we don’t have to be worried about how really mad our parents will be?”   
The four laughed together, shaking their heads.   
“Because they’re gonna be really, really mad,” Carlos continued.  
“Your parents can’t reach you here,” Ben assured.  
“Okay, then,” Carlos said with a grin, adding his fist to the mix. “Good.”  
The islanders laughed again, and then, with a smile over her shoulder, a small jerk of her chin and a soft “come on”, Ben and Syrena stepped forward too, placing bumping fists with the other four to an eruption of cheers and applause.


	8. Coronation Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben's coronation can resume as planned. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing except Syrena :)
> 
> I'm so sorry I haven't updated.
> 
> I just finished up a 20 hour drive to start a vacation. So in return for still reading this, I will be posting two chapters tonight (this morning? I actually don't know anymore, I've been driving too long. Time doesn't exist.)
> 
> As a reminder, I really love Kudos, Comments, Bookmarks and Feedback. So please leave some of those things :)

The sound of an explosion and panicked screaming broke the touching moment. The group broke apart, ducking while turning their heads to find the source of the noise. Thunder rumbled around the hall, a stained-glass window shattered, raining shards down on the unsuspecting attendees. Acid green smoke filtered in through the window’s remains, circling around the room, forcing people to duck or be consumed. The cloud touched down at the center of the hall, spinning like a tornado in front of the dais.  
With each rotation, the smoke solidified until the evil fairy Maleficent was standing before them. Swathed in black lace and leather, her demonic, horned hair wrap gleaming in the fading light filtering through the colored panes of glass around the cathedral, Syrena realized she’d never known real evil until she was staring in this woman’s face.  
“I’m back!” Maleficent sang, twirling in place. She stopped to face Fairy Godmother, still standing on the dais. The good fairy looked horrified to be facing this enemy.  
“It can’t be,” Mal whispered, fingers tightening around the wand she still possessed. “Go away, mother,” she said with such annoyed nonchalance that Syrena wondered if the girl actually realized the danger of the situation.  
“She’s funny,” Maleficent chuckled and snorted, twirling again to look around the room as if she expected everyone else in the hall to join in on the joke. “You’re very funny,” she continued, maniacal peals of laughter still erupting from her throat. She stopped to face her daughter, laughter dying instantly. “Here,” she demanded, holding out one hand, “Wand me. Chop, chop.”  
Mal started to hand the wand over immediately.  
“No!” Ben shouted.   
The room erupted in horrified gasping.  
Syrena, still standing next to Evie, flicked her eyes quickly around the room. Everyone looked nervous, anxious and afraid except for the islanders. Evie stood, one hand on her cocked hip, face lax and emotionless, eyes hard. Carlos looked ready to start growling, body tensed to lunge at any second. Jay mimicked Carlos, standing ready to fight. They were the epitome of defiance and strength.   
The second before Maleficent seized the wand from her daughter’s grasp, Mal turned and threw it to Fairy Godmother who caught it and began her usual incantation in the same motion.   
“Bibbidi-bobbidi-”  
“Boo,” Maleficent finished with a mocking sneer. A flick of her wrist ignited her staff and Fairy Godmother was bathed in green, fire-like light; body frozen in place.  
Syrena tried to move, body reacting without thought, but found she was unable to move any of her limbs. Her eyes darted around, panic seizing her still rapidly moving mind.   
The whole room was immobile.  
“Psych,” Maleficent laughed, snorting again and taking time to observe her handiwork before moving up the dais steps to pluck the wand from Fairy Godmother’s still hand.  
The vile woman began moving around the dais, mocking the people around her with childish jokes while monologuing her wicked plans.  
Syrena tried to force her body back into motion. Focusing on different parts of her body to try and find a weakness in the spell’s hold.   
Wiggling toes? No luck.   
Shift her feet? Nothing.  
Twitching fingers? Useless.  
They were trapped with this mad woman, realistic statues frozen in time until she released them.  
“Where shall we begin?” she asked the room, eyes focused on her daughter. “I know,” she breathed, ducking under Fairy Godmother’s prone hand, “Why don’t we start by getting rid of this?” A flick of the wand jerked Mal’s hand up and Ben’s ring flew off her finger to side down the wands tip, metal clinking against the intricate golden details of the rod. Mal gasped, upper body suddenly released from the spell so she could hold her hand and mourn the loss of the ring. “Perfect fit!” Maleficent crowed. She moved away from Fairy Godmother to inspect Ben, goading her daughter about the weakness of love. Mal could do nothing else but pout despairingly as her mother ruined the pact made moments ago to be good and different.  
“It’s not what you want,” Maleficent stated.  
“You don’t know what I want!” Mal cried, “Mom, have you ever once asked me what I want? I’m not you!”  
“Oh, obviously,” Maleficent tutted, shaking her horned head, “I’ve had years and years and years and years of practice being evil. You’ll get there.”  
“No, I will not,” Mal avowed, “and I really wish that you had never gotten there yourself.”  
Syrena watched the heartbreak on Mal’s face and couldn’t imagine how the girl was feeling. Knowing your mother disapproved of you for wanting and achieving everything that other parents dreamed their child would receive one iota of. To find love, to have true and loyal friends and to be honestly happy. How could any parent deny their child those things? Syrena wanted to cry for Mal and the heartless upbringing that had been forced upon her.  
“Love is not weak or ridiculous. It’s actually really amazing.” Mal’s watery smile brought a matching one to Syrena’s own lips.  
Her lips!  
The split-second realization that she could move her lips had her retrying her earlier tests. She couldn’t speak, her vocal cords still effected by the spell, she couldn’t even open her mouth, but she could twitch her fingers now, not much more than a minute curl, but it was a start and every attempt gained new range. The curse was weakening.  
“I know one thing, young lady, you have no room for love in your life!” Maleficent shouted, pointing the wand in her daughter’s face, the threat silent but clear.  
Syrena moved her arm, just enough to touch the slightly curled fingertips of the hand Evie had resting on her hip, a feather light brush but enough to draw the girl’s eyes to her. Evie’s lips twitched in the barest hint of a smile, eyelid dropping in a quick wink.  
They’d known?  
“And now I command, wand to my hand!” Mal screamed, hand stretching out willing the wand to her. In a golden spiral of magical energy, the wand jerked Maleficent forward, close enough for Mal to snatch it away. “Ha! It worked!” she gasped, eyes wide, shock and awe written on her face as she stared at the power-filled object in her palm.  
Evie and Carlos shifted their bodies, forcing more motion through their stiff limbs. Syrena tried as well and found she had more control of her upper half.   
“I hardly think so. Frankly, this is tedious and very immature,” Maleficent huffed, pacing a circle around the blue carpet, “Give me the wand. Give me the wand!” She screamed, hand outstretched and fingers wiggling furiously.  
Evie dropped the arm on her hip, taking a step closer to Mal’s back.  
Carlos stepped forward, hand grabbing Mal’s wrist, “hold on, Mal. Maybe good really is more powerful than evil,” he encouraged.  
“Oh, please!” You’re killing me,” Maleficent laughed, then barked at Carlos, who took a quick step back, eyes widening as his past phobia ignited. Jay grabbed his bicep, tugging him back protectively.  
Syrena tried to move with them, tried to take a step forward to stand with Mal, but she found she still had motion only in parts of her upper body.  
How are they moving so freely?  
She didn’t have time to wonder long as a series of high-pitched yaps echoed around the hall and Dude the dog appeared, a brown blur of wiry fur, running down the blue carpet to launch himself at the evil fairy.  
Maleficent cried out, catching the dog as it leapt on her and tossing him back to the ground as soon as she got a good grasp on the wiggling furball.  
Jay was already waiting for the distraction, fist flying out at Maleficent as soon as Dude was safely out of the way. He grabbed her staff with both hands, exertion fueled grunts erupting from his chest as he jerked against Maleficent’s firm hold.  
With a whoosh of unseen power, Maleficent swooped closer, squeezing Jay’s shoulder with black clawed fingers. “Gaston should be jealous,” she cooed before rising to her full height again and flicking Jay between the eyes. The magic-backed attack sent Jay tumbling backwards onto the floor. Maleficent cackled and then, in a twirl of black lace she screamed “Enough!” and the most terrifying thing Syrena had ever witnessed began. “You all will regret this!” Maleficent promised, voice disembodied as the acid green smoke returned. When it cleared this time, it was with the help of Maleficent’s dragon’s form wings beating the clouds away.  
The beast roared.  
Four sets of petrified gazes stared up at the monster.  
Syrena wanted to scream as the dragon opened its mouth, flames spewing out at Jay, who managed to push himself up and into a run before the heat could fry him in place.  
“Come on. Run, Jay, run!” Carlos shrieked, eyes tracking the dragon and his friend as they circled the cathedral. Syrena could only move her head enough to see Evie, Mal and Carlos’ terrified faces, but she could hear the heavy fall of Jay’s boots against the polished marble floor. As long as she could hear that, she knew he was okay.  
When he ran past her, heading up onto the dais, only to be face-to-face with the dragon’s open jowls, Syrena finally managed a yelp through her frozen throat.  
“Hurry, Jay! Hurry, hurry, hurry!” Mal called. The others called for him too, encouragements and instructions. All which fell on deaf ears as the dragon flew up along the stone walls to flip along the high ceiling and come soaring back towards them, jaws open wide and sharp teeth glinting maliciously.  
Syrena couldn’t move like the others, couldn’t jump out of the way of the terrifying beast flying towards her. She tried desperately to get her body to cooperate, but it was useless. She could only watch helplessly as the dragon closed in.  
Jay ran past her again, tripping over the blue carpet into a roll.  
“Magic mirror, show your bright light!” Evie cried, mirror raised with sunlight bright beams blazing forth and into the dragon’s eyes.  
Stepping forward to force the light directly into the beast’s eyes, Evie, followed closely by Mal, took a defensive stance in front of Syrena, forcing the dragon back. Carlos and Jay joined the girls quickly, forming an unintentional circle around the petrified red head.  
The dragon roared in indignant rage, but Evie didn’t let up until the dragon crash landed in front of the dais.  
“Behind me, E!” Mal pushed her friend behind her, taking her mother’s disorientation as an opportunity to ready her battle stance. “Leave my friends alone!” She demanded.  
The dragon roared, shaking its massive head against the last muddled remains of her crash and then looming over Mal, forked tongue flicking out threateningly.  
“This is between you and me, mother.”  
The dragon drew closer, growling and hissing, jaws opening to bare thick, razor like teeth.  
“The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before four hearts as one,” Mal recited, staring her mother down.  
The dragon continued to growl, taking another dangerous step forward.  
“The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before four hearts as one,” she repeated, louder this time. Syrena could feel the invisible power radiating around the girl, like standing too close to an open flame, the power was burning hot and it was hard to keep her eyes open, even with the magic keeping her forcibly still.   
“The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before four hearts as one!” she was practically screaming now. The dragon’s green eyes were glowing as she fought against Mal’s magical energy.  
Silence fell over the cathedral as mother and daughter stared each other down. The heat of power was getting uncomfortable, Syrena’s skin itched with it and then there was a swell in the heat, like a vacuum sucking it from the very atmosphere and then forcing it back out in a concentrated swell that consumed Maleficent’s dragon form. The beast’s eyes went from glowing green to dull yellow before it exploded into green smoke again.  
With another whoosh of energy, the petrification spell evaporated, Syrena’s body flung itself backward with the force she’d tried to exert when she thought she was about to be eaten by a dragon, sending her falling backward in a flail of arms and a yelp of surprise. But she didn’t hit the ground, a firm, calloused hand caught her wrist, tugging her upright and steadying her. A boyish grin and deep brown eyes stared her down, waiting until she was balanced on her feet before clasping the hand on her shoulder with an amused chuckle. She managed to give Jay a wobbly smile back, huffing a few dry chuckles out, eyes darting around the room. No one else was moving yet, with the exception of Fairy Godmother on the dais, who gasped as she was freed from the curse.  
Why was she free when no one else was?  
Hiking her skirt up, Mal rushed up the blue carpet, followed closely by Evie, Carlos and Jay as the investigated the spot where dragon Maleficent had been only moments ago.  
“What just happened?”  
“I have no idea.”  
“Did you do it?”  
“I don’t know,” Mal replied, stopping short to stare down at something on the floor.  
Fairy Godmother rushed from the dais to meet the four islanders, “No, no, no, no. Your mother did,” she started, “she shrank to the size of the love in her heart. That’s why it’s so itty-bitty.”  
Syrena didn’t want to see what they were talking about, but curiosity got the better of her. She started walking up the blue carpet, following her friend’s path slowly, arms crossed in front of her, fingers toying with the thin golden band on her wrist when she gasped, jerking her hands apart to inspect the bracelet, and then her fingers that had been scalded like she’d touched a stove while it was on.  
Holding the bracelet close to her face, she could see no visible difference in the band, but even at the distance it was, she could feel heat radiating off of it to warm her nose and cheeks. The small emerald chips inlaid in the band were glittering brightly, like a flame had lit inside each gem.  
What the heck?  
Ben’s beast like roaring drew Syrena’s eyes away from the bracelet, dropping her hands to her sides, left one curled behind her back to keep the still warm band hidden, she closed the short distance between herself and Evie, joining the others laughter as she saw the bewildered look on the now king’s face.  
“We kinda got this all wrapped up here,” Mal told him, patting his chest gently. Ben stared at her for a moment, letting her statement sink in before he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up and spinning her around excitedly. Mal yelped and shrieked, arms circling his neck to return the enthusiastic embrace.  
“Next time, I rescue you, okay?” the king said, setting his girlfriend back on her feet.  
“Yeah, let’s not let there be a next time, okay?” she sighed with a giggle. Syrena couldn’t help but silently agree with the girl. This was much too much excitement for her to handle again any time soon.  
The couple hugged again, gentler this time. Mal straightening Ben’s crown on his head when they parted before pulling it cockeyed again with a giddy laugh.  
A light brush of fingers against her right hand drew Syrena’s gaze up to warm, melted chocolate brown eyes and Syrena smiled, lacing her fingers with Evie’s.  
“You were pretty great with that mirror,” she complimented, squeezing gently.  
“It was sweet that you tried to tell me that we could move,” Evie replied, squeezing back. “But I’m curious how you managed to fight the curse.” The twinkle in her chocolate eyes sent a zing of nervousness through Syrena and it must have shown in her own green gaze. “But we’ll figure that out later.” Evie winked at her again and the apprehension quelled instantly.  
A royal guard stepped forward with the cover for Fairy Godmother’s wand stand, setting it over the…purple lizard? Syrena blinked in confusion, mouth opening to ask Evie about it when Mal shouted out.  
“Hey! Careful!” She knelt down next to the glass cage, hand resting on the knob at the top. “That’s my mom.” The guard nodded and bowed, stepping away hastily.  
Syrena laughed then, true and full and rib-achingly loud. Evie followed her, then Carlos and Jay and Ben, who stepped up to wrap a brotherly arm around Syrena’s shoulders, supporting her weight when her laughter tried to force her to double over. Mal was the last to join in, after a quick curtsy to the guard she’d scared away, and Carlos wrapped an arm around her back, drawing her into the six-way hug Jay encompassed them all in.  
“Well, let’s get this party started!” Jay encouraged and the laughter redoubled.  
“Ohayohay, hey!” they sang together through their merriment.


	9. You Didn't Think This Was The End Of The Story, Did You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is at peace in the kingdom of Auradon.
> 
> Mal and Ben are starting their happily ever after, Jay is making a name for himself in Tourney, Carlos and Evie have both found their places among the Auradonian heroes and Syrena has friends that truly make her feel like she belongs.
> 
> But, next semester is just around the corner and anything can happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing except Syrena, but I love her so it's okay.
> 
> Ah, we've reached the final chapter of Skin Deep!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has stuck around thus far. I have begun working on the second installment, currently titled Rose Colored Glasses (but that may change) so keep an eye out for that.
> 
> I am on vacation this week, so I while I will be exploring and having adventures, I do plan on writing in the evening and hopefully will have at least two chapters posted before my vacation ends.
> 
> Remember: Comments, Kudos, Bookmarks and Feedback are what I thrive on, so please leave them for me to enjoy.

The coronation party at Beast Castle was full of life and laughter when Syrena walked into the back courtyard.  
Blue and gold fireworks exploded in the sky above the castle, filling the night with fairy light and the sweet smell of smoke.  
People were dancing on every available surface and as she looked around, she saw no cliques, no animosity or separation. King Ben’s reign had begun with the intention of slowly breaking barriers by bringing four villain children to Auradon and, while tomorrow may return to normal, tonight he was celebrating a successful foundation.

Without much effort, Syrena spotted Evie and Mal dancing on the stage like patio, arms waving to the beat of the music. She approached them slowly, taking careful steps through the dark, feeling her heels sink into the grass with each step. Evie noticed her first, crooking her finger when Syrena reached the edge of the stage as she and Mal began to sing along to the music.

Oh yeah  
Oh yeah yeah  
Let's set it off  
Oh yeah  
You can make it happen

A group of tourney team members carried King Ben in on their shoulders, dancing along to the music as they made their way up the short staircase to deposit Ben there before joining in with Evie and Mal’s singing.

Ohay, ohay hey!  
Kings and Queens, it's our time to rise  
Write the book story of our lives,  
This is us taking back the night.  
Ohay, ohay  
Break the spell,  
We were born this way  
Be yourself, forget the DNA,  
Everybody raise your hands and say  
Ohay, ohay

Mal stepped around to join Ben in the center of the patio as Syrena stepped up onto it, staying close to the wall to observe the festivities. Her fingers occasionally brushing the now cool golden bracelet on her wrist with wistful curiosity.   
Her eyes drifted up as Evie began to sing alone, strutting up the center of a line of their fellow students like she owned the stage. Syrena was glad to see the confidence her friend exuded. It was inspiring, like Evie herself.   
She smiled and giggled when she saw Doug join Evie, taking her hand and spinning her around the stage and then back to Mal and Ben’s side. 

Sound the alarm, get on your feet  
Let's set it off and rock this beat  
Dance till your heart is wild and free  
Ooh, oh, oh  
Feeling the power, let it all out,  
Like what you see in the mirror, shout  
We got the keys, the kingdom's ours  
Ooh, oh, oh,  
Ohay, ohay hey  
Let's set it off  
Oh yeah  
Start a chain reaction,  
Never let it stop!  
Let's set it off  
Oh yeah  
You can make it happen  
With everything you got!  
Let's set it off!

A wave of color filled the sky as girls were lifted and spun by their partners. Syrena stared, awed by the rainbow of glitter and ruffles that passed her by.  
Longing filled her and she toyed with the bracelet on her wrist again, running a gloved fingertip over each of the emerald chips.  
What would it be like to be able to dance so closely with someone? To let someone touch her, without fear of their pity or contempt. To instead have someone look at her like Doug looked at Evie or Mal looked at Ben.  
She looked down at the blue lace tights Evie had included with the gloves, for the after-party variation of her coronation dress.  
With simple movements, Evie had transformed her floor length gown into a knee length 20’s inspired dress, beautiful and tragically underwhelming with the amount of skin not on display. Syrena wished she could do the dress credit, wished she could flaunt Evie’s beautiful work of art without needing the additional accessories she wore.

Get ready, set it off  
Come on  
We got to set it off  
On the right  
Get ready, set it off  
To the left  
We got to set it off!  
Ohay ohay hey!

Yo, it's time to set this thing off,  
Let's make it happen now  
I'mma make my own future, ignore the rumors,  
Show 'em how passion sound  
They all told me I should back down  
Judgin' me 'cause of my background  
Thinkin' 'bout changing my path now  
I ain't goin' out like that now

Feeling the power, let it all out,  
Like what you see in the mirror, shout  
We got the keys, the kingdom's ours  
Ooh oh oh

Carlos and Jane blurred past her secreted spot as the white-haired boy led the good daughter into the fray of dancers.  
They both looked adorably awkward, blushing and smiling in the dim lighting of the patio. Syrena wanted to keep watching them, use them to live vicariously in this moment. But they disappeared into the crowd and the flurry of swirling skirts and writhing bodies as quickly as they’d appeared.  
“Hello, foxy.”  
The crooning voice made Syrena smile, remembering the first time he’d said those words to Audrey the day he and the other isle kids had been introduced to Auradon Prep.   
Giving him a sideways look as he leaned against the cool stone wall next to her. She crinkled her nose at him, shaking her head and then letting her eyes wander back to the enthusiastic dancing happening around her, “shouldn’t you be out there wooing your fans?” she asked playfully above the music. It felt more like she was screaming at him, but over the surrounding noise, she was practically whispering.  
“How can I dance knowing a beauty like you is hiding away like some kind of wallflower?” Jay asked, placing a hand over his heart in mock offence.  
“Who decided to teach you new words?” She asked, nudging him gently in the ribs.  
“Evie.”  
Syrena nodded.  
“So, what are you waiting for?” he asked, holding his hand out for her.  
“Jay, I don’t…”  
“Come on, Syrena, you’ve befriended four villains, battled a scary pink girl and faced off against a dragon when you couldn’t move. What is so scary about dancing?” he shook his hand at her, looking down at her expectantly.  
Chewing her bottom lip, she glanced out at the dancefloor, watching her friends and fellow students enjoying themselves. She wanted that ease and amusement.  
When Ben had confessed his love for Mal, no one had spared her bare skin a second glance. Not even when they’d lifted her, their fingers wrapped around the ridged flesh.  
When Evie saw them during Syrena’s first dress fitting, she had accepted the scars without hesitation.  
When Audrey saw you bleeding on a bathroom floor, she’d laughed and ridiculed you.  
Syrena shook that thought away, determined to wipe those bad memories away. What better way to start than dancing with the handsome, boyishly charming son of Jafar.  
She slid her hand into his, pushing herself off the wall and letting him lead her into the crowd, grinning madly as they went.

Oh yeah  
Let's set it off  
Oh yeah  
Let's set this off!  
Start a chain reaction,  
Never let it stop!  
Let's set it off  
Let's set this off!  
Oh yeah  
Let's set this off!  
You can make it happen  
With everything you got!  
Evie grinned at Syrena as they met on the dancefloor, Jay at her side, still holding her hand as they spun around with the others.  
She felt light and free, without fear even as Jay swung her around and dipped her, fingers brushing against the minute amount of exposed skin above her shoulder blades. He didn’t hesitate or faulter, even when she was sure he must have felt the ridges there. He just kept smiling and moving her around the patio.  
Evie grabbed her from Jay a few times, locking their hands together with laced fingers, raising their arms above their heads while they spun, sliding apart and then coming back together before returning to their original partners.

Let's set it off!  
Get ready, set it off  
Come on  
We got to set it off  
That's right  
Get ready, set it off  
To the left  
We got to set it off  
Get ready, set it off,  
We got to set it off,  
Get ready to set it off  
Come on

When Audrey appeared, dancing with Chad nearby, Syrena didn’t let the girl’s presence bother her. Instead, she smiled a genuine, kindly smile at her former friend.  
Audrey nodded back, the corners of her pink lips raising the smallest bit.

3, 2, 1, Uh  
Ooh yeah  
Let's set it off  
Oh yeah  
Let's set this off!  
Start a chain reaction,  
Never let it stop!  
Let's set it off  
Let's set this off!  
Oh yeah  
Let's set this off!  
You can make it happen  
With everything you got!  
Let's set it off  
Get ready, set it off

As the song came to a close, the dancers twirled around to face the low balcony. Mal and Ben stood, singing the last verse together, arms wrapped around each other and eyes oblivious to anyone else in the world.

Come on  
We got to set it off  
To the left  
Get ready, set it off  
To the right  
We got to set it off!

Another round of fireworks exploded overhead as the music came to a crescendo. Mal and Ben kissed and even the raucous cheer that rose from the crowd couldn’t convince them to part.  
Carlos, Jane, Evie and Doug joined Syrena and Jay where they stood, smiling up at their friends. Arms wrapped around shoulders, exhausted partiers relaxing into one another, sharing the weight like they would from this day forward.  
Syrena smiled up at the King and his girlfriend.  
Today was definitely the solid foundation of a united future between Auradon and the Isle and under King Ben, there was no telling how far they could go. Syrena was just happy she could be along for the ride, because this certainly wasn’t the end of their story.


End file.
